Liz Truss has set the stage for a fierce Brexit scandal with Europe, telling Brussels that the United Kingdom will have “no choice but to act” on the Northern Ireland Protocol unless the EU gives way.
The Foreign Minister’s warning in a telephone conversation with Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič is expected to be followed within days of the publication of emergency legislation repealing key elements of the protocol agreed by Boris Johnson in 2019 to avoid a firm border between the Republic and the North after Brexit.
Speaking after the conversation, Mr Shefcovic expressed “serious concern” about the deadlock, warning that it would be “unacceptable” for the United Kingdom to take unilateral action by withdrawing from an international treaty signed by Johnson.
He later told a meeting of EU and UK parliamentarians in Brussels: “We need honesty about what the UK has signed. Honesty, the EU cannot solve all the problems created by Brexit and the type of Brexit chosen by the United Kingdom.
“We will not renegotiate the protocol and the EU is united in this position. Unilateral actions that do not effectively implement the protocol are not the solution. “
While the foreign minister’s words suggested that there was still room for the EU to prevent a clash by changing its negotiating mandate in the coming days, Mr Shefcovic told Ms Truss that there was “no place” for that to happen and Downing Street acknowledged that the situation was “very serious” now.
It seems that the stalemate will lift the curtain on the 16-month negotiations in which the United Kingdom is pushing for easier inspections of goods imported into Northern Ireland from the mainland of Great Britain, which were introduced as a result of Mr Johnson’s decision to pushed a customs border down the Irish Sea.
№ 10 said that negotiations are likely to continue formally in the coming days and that the UK does not set a fixed deadline.
Mr Johnson’s spokesman insisted that a final decision had not yet been made on whether to proceed with legislation repealing the protocol.
“We have seen several times that the EU has made statements on the protocol and concessions have been made since the negotiations,” the spokesman said. “We are trying to leave all possibilities open, but the situation is very serious.
But no follow-up meeting has been scheduled between Mrs Trus and Mr Shefcovic, and a Downing Street source said the cabinet was united on the “something needs to be done” position as the EU’s position appears to be strengthening.
“You never know what the EU will return with,” the source said. “But they set out their position today, and we have no signal that this will change.”
Any unilateral breach of the Brexit deal by the United Kingdom could eventually lead to a trade war with Europe, as Brussels retaliates by suspending the duty-free export agreements enshrined in the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
But legislation to repeal the protocol is likely to take up to a year to pass through parliament, with strong opposition expected in the House of Lords, and government sources have suggested that talks could continue during that time to prevent extremely costly breakdown in trade relations.
Ms Trus raised tensions over the protocol on Tuesday with a statement warning that the EU’s proposals to ease trade friction would actually “take us back”. But Mr Shefcovic told her today that there was “no room” for further concessions or a change in his negotiating mandate, which must be agreed by all 27 EU member states.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “The Foreign Minister noted this with regret and said that the situation in Northern Ireland was a matter of internal peace and security for the United Kingdom and if the EU did not show the necessary flexibility to help address these issues, then responsible government, we would have no choice but to act. “
The final discussion came hours after Attorney General Suela Braverman revealed that she had received legal advice that it would be legal to tear up parts of the protocol because of the “disproportionate and unreasonable” way it was implemented by Brussels.
She presented evidence accusing the EU of undermining the Good Friday Agreement by creating a trade barrier in the Irish Sea and warned of “public unrest” in Northern Ireland. Downing Street today refused to publish the advice received from Ms. Braverman.
Speaking to Mr Shefcovic today, Ms Truss said the protocol had become “the biggest obstacle” to the formation of an executive branch in Northern Ireland after power-sharing agreements were thwarted by the DUP.
The Unionist Party, which wants the protocol removed, has refused to enter a new executive branch led by Sinn Féin’s Michel O’Neill, which became the largest group in the Northern Ireland Assembly in last week’s election in Stormont.
Ms Truss said the current situation was causing “unacceptable trade disruptions” and had created a “two-tier system in which people in Northern Ireland were not treated in the same way as everyone else in the UK”.
Calling for “more pragmatism” on the part of the Commission, she said problems could be solved while protecting the EU’s single market by implementing the UK’s proposals for goods destined for Northern Ireland to be sent to “Green channel” with a light touch of customs, while strict controls are reserved for those heading to the republic.
Speaking after telephone conversations, Mr Shefcovic said: “It remains a matter of serious concern that the UK Government intends to take the path of unilateral action.
“I am convinced that only joint decisions will work. Unilateral actions that do not effectively implement an international agreement such as the Protocol are simply not acceptable. “
He added: “This will undermine the trust between the EU and the United Kingdom, as well as compromise our ultimate goal of protecting the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast) in all its dimensions, while ensuring legal certainty and predictability for people and businesses in Northern Ireland. .
“Such unilateral action will also undermine the conditions that are essential for Northern Ireland to continue to have access to the EU’s single market for goods.
“The EU and the United Kingdom are partners facing the same global challenges where maintaining the rule of law and respecting international obligations is essential. It is extremely important to work side by side in a constructive way. ”
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