British and European officials are meeting on Wednesday to discuss post-Brexit relations with tensions once more escalating over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
David Frost, Britain’s Brexit Minister, called on the EU to show “common sense” ahead of the meeting, arguing in an op-ed published in the Financial Times on Monday that the UK had presented the bloc with a “range of policy papers” to find a solution over the Irish issue.
As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and in order to avoid the creation of a physical border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which many fear could spark sectarian violence on the island once more, the British province has so far remained in the bloc’s customs unions.
This effectively created a border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as certain goods now need to be checked before traveling across the sea.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who negotiated the Withdrawal Agreement now in force, has since called it “ludicrous” and London unilaterally decided earlier this year to waive checks. Britain now wants to extend that waiver to 2023.
Brussels has warned of repercussions if London follows through with its threat with Maros Sefcovic, the Commission’s negotiator, writing in the Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday: “If the U.K. takes further unilateral action over the coming weeks, the EU will not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the U.K. abides by its international law obligations.”
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has refuted Frost’s accusation that the EU is unwilling to negotiate, writing on Twitter earlier this week that “Lord Frost continues to lay blame for difficulty with Protocol at EU inflexibility. This is simply not the case. Maros Sefcovic & EU have consistently proposed new solutions.
