Boris Johnson is ready to use the Queen’s speech to choose the fight for Brexit in the European Union because of the deal he signed with Brussels.
After a long absence from the Westminster news agenda, UK-EU relations will soon return to seriousness as the prime minister seeks to move out of the Partygate scandal and strengthen his base.
It is reported that the government’s legislative program should include the power of ministers to repeal the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key part of Johnson’s agreement with Brussels.
But now the prime minister says the agreement is not working and needs to be reformed to make life easier for Northern Ireland.
Brexit Opportunity Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday: “There are many comments saying, ‘Well, we signed it, so we should definitely accept it as a lock, a warehouse and a barrel.’ This is absolute nonsense. “
The Financial Times now reports that Mr Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have generally signed plans to present a bill for Northern Ireland at the start of the next parliamentary session, which begins next month.
This bill will give ministers the power to deactivate parts of the protocol in British law, including border checks across the Irish Sea.
A spokesman for the UK government said no decisions had been made yet and that “our main priority remains to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland”.
But when asked about the plan on LBC radio on Friday morning, Northern Ireland Minister Connor Burns said: “We are not talking about what is in the Queen’s speech before the Queen’s speech is delivered, it would be extremely inappropriate.
“What I would say is that we were clear last July,” he said, adding that we believe that the threshold for a trial has been reached to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“There is significant public disruption in Northern Ireland because of the way the protocol is implemented. There is a sense that the people of Northern Ireland are people separated.”
He added that the agreement “does not work as intended” and that it is “perfectly correct” that if the European Commission does not move, it will not seek practical solutions to make the protocol less invasive, less bureaucratic. from the United Kingdom [will]”.
Mr Burns added: “We were very clear with the Commission that, in the end, if there is no movement, if there is no political will to commit to amending the protocol to make its implementation work more effectively, then the United the United Kingdom reserves the right, as in the manner referred to in Article 16, which states that the Annex has a Protocol, to cause serious economic, social or environmental difficulties likely to continue or diversion of trade, the Union or the United Kingdom may take unilateral action. and appropriate precautions – that may be what we need to do. “
Asked about the reports, a European Commission spokesman told reporters in Brussels on Friday: “It will come as no surprise that we have no comment on press releases or unnamed sources or other comments. In general, I think I can simply repeat what we have said several times in this press room: that we are fully committed to working with the UK Government to find lasting solutions for Northern Ireland in order to achieve lasting security and predictability for people and business in Northern Ireland Ireland.
“Only joint decisions can do this: jointly agreed decisions. And if you look at it, this approach works. Just a few days ago, we reached the decision on medicines for Northern Ireland, which was agreed in a record short time. It is important to emphasize this.
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