Boris Johnson is expected to sign plans this week for a law to unilaterally remove parts of the UK’s Brexit deal, despite warnings that it could fail negotiations with Brussels and spark a trade war with the EU.
The prime minister’s allies tried to defuse tensions on Sunday, insisting that the plan to rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol is just an “insurance policy” should negotiations with the EU fail to improve its functioning.
But Simon Cowney, Ireland’s foreign minister, told Sky News: “There is no way for the EU to compromise if the UK threatens unilateral action to pass domestic legislation to repeal international obligations.
Ministers are expected to meet on Tuesday to agree on the plan, despite fears in the finance ministry that it could eventually lead to EU trade responses and worsen the cost of living crisis.
Government officials said Steve Barclay, cabinet minister and ally of Chancellor Rishi Sunak, has asked the finance ministry to work on the likely economic impact of the trade war with the EU.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Johnson said that if the EU did not soften its position on the protocol, there would be a “need to act” and that he would present “the next steps to parliament in the coming days”.
According to the Brexit deal, the institutions of Northern Ireland must approve the continuation of trade agreements in the protocol through a “vote of consent” in 2024.
He added: “There is no doubt that there is a reasonable place to land where everyone’s interests are protected. Our common goal must be to create the widest possible inter-Community support for a reformed protocol in 2024.
Johnson began a week of intense political activity on Monday as he traveled to Belfast to deliver a return to work message to the leaders of the five largest political parties in Northern Ireland.
Downing Street said the prime minister would call on leaders to quickly form an executive to share power in Stormont after this month’s election so they can continue to tackle the region’s bread and butter problems.
Johnson hopes his promise to correct the disruption caused by the NI trade protocol from Britain to the region – by passing domestic law if necessary – will persuade pro-united politicians to join the executive branch.
But Michel O’Neill, vice president of the nationalist Sinn Féin party, which won the election, said he would make his opposition to the United Kingdom clear on the protocol when he meets with the prime minister. “I will tell Boris Johnson that unilateral action is deepening political instability and economic insecurity and should not happen.
Michelle O’Neill, right, speaks to Dublin media after meeting with Sinn Fein President Lou MacDonald, left, and the rest of the party’s executive branch on Saturday © Sam Boal / PA
Johnson’s visit to Belfast comes after the Democratic Unionist Party, which finished second in the election, blocked the election of a spokesman in Stormont as part of a boycott of the executive branch until the protocol was reformed.
DUP caretaker Economy Minister Gordon Lyons called for “action, not words” to defend Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom. “We have passed seven tests and we will judge the government’s actions on these tests,” he said.
Downing Street has tried to ease tensions with Dublin and the rest of the EU over the weekend, with some government officials accusing Foreign Secretary Liz Truss of raising bets with aggressive briefings, which her team has denied.
Johnson’s aides on Sunday insisted that while legislation to rewrite part of the protocol is “still the most likely option”, it is an “insurance policy” in case negotiations with the EU to reduce trade disruptions fail.
Government officials acknowledge that the adoption of any law could take a year, and expect fierce opposition from some Tory MPs and the House of Lords.
The DUP boycott freezes not only the executive, which shares power, but the entire assembly, and the clock is ticking in a six-month negotiation process that could lead to new elections this winter.
Cowney warned that any move by London to abandon the agreements would “send headlines around the world that Britain is ready to violate international law.”
But Quasi Quarteng told the BBC he did not believe the EU would respond with a trade war. “I think it would be completely self-destructive if they went into a trade war. But it’s up to them, “he said.
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