Britain announces plans to abandon part of post-EU trade agreement with EU

The British government has announced plans to revoke the agreement with the European Union, which governs the post-Bregit trade agreement in Northern Ireland, but denied that the move violated international law.

In a statement released Monday, the Githabul Ministry said the new law “to amend some of the Northern Ireland Protocol, restore stability and ensure the delicate balance of the Good Friday Agreement. The purpose is to make the necessary changes to Belfast. “

Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed the EU and Northern Ireland Protocol in 2019 as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, along with measures aimed at preventing the harsh borders of Ireland’s islands.

However, the Protocol has been strongly opposed by members of the UK state, effectively keeping Northern Ireland within the EU Single Market while building the Irish Sea border between the state and the UK mainland. I am complaining that I am.

Northern Ireland has not had a functioning local government since February, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), then the largest party in the regional parliament, withdrew from power-sharing executives in protest of the Protocol.

The new law will allow ministers to establish a “green lane” and allow trusted traders to move goods from the UK to Northern Ireland without a check as long as the goods are in the UK.

Products sourced from companies other than trusted trader schemes, or products destined for Ireland and the EU, go through the “Red Lane” and are checked.

Products marketed in Northern Ireland are permitted to comply with UK or EU regulations without having to comply with Brussels regulations.

The UK has also proposed removing the European Court of Justice as the ultimate arbitrator in the trade dispute over the Protocol, instead passing its function to an independent arbitrator.

The British government argued that the bill complies with international law under the “Dogma of Necessity”. This allows the treaty’s obligations to be revoked under “specific, very exceptional, limited conditions”.

However, the EU has criticized Britain’s actions to undermine trust between the two.

Maroš Šefchovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, sees the EU’s actions as a “grave concern” and has begun further legal action to protect the integrity of the EU Single Market. He said he would consider it.

He added that Northern Ireland companies’ access to the EU Single Market is now “at risk.”

“It is very regrettable for a country like the United Kingdom to conclude an international treaty,” said Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“It represents a new minimum, as the natural expectation of democracies like ourselves, the United Kingdom, and across Europe is to respect the international agreements we have signed,” he says. I did.

The British government’s position has also been opposed by more than half of the members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, with 52 of the 90 local members blaming the “reckless” plan.

But Britain’s Foreign Minister Liz Truss blamed the EU for failing to reach a negotiated settlement, saying “it is very clear that we are acting in accordance with the law.”

PA Media contributed to this report.

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