Brussels has urged Westminster to reject Boris Johnson’s “illegal” attempt to unilaterally rewrite post-Brexit agreements for Northern Ireland as the EU launches new legal action against the UK.
EU Commissioner for Brexit Maroš Šefčovič said he hoped parliament would bet on negotiating the conflict, as it relaunched a case frozen by past breaches of the Brexit agreement and launched two new complaints about Brexit. unfulfilled treaty obligations.
“Let’s call it a shovel: that’s illegal,” he said of the prime minister’s plans.
As a result of the EU’s initial response, the UK will have to justify its past failures to check UK imports into Northern Ireland within two months, or face potentially huge fines from the UK. European Court of Justice. Letters of formal notice of action will also be sent on past mistakes for establishing border posts and sharing data.
However, Brussels refrained from taking specific action on the new legislation introduced on Monday – which proposes rewriting the Northern Ireland protocol – until the bill becomes law, a process that could take 18 months. or more.
Šefčovič suggested that the suspension of parts of the trade agreement could not be ruled out, at a potentially high cost to British consumers and industry, but used a press conference in Brussels to appeal to parliamentarians and parliamentarians. his comrades to prevent the Johnson administration from destroying the reputation of the United Kingdom. and provoking a trade war.
“Now we bring the issue to the debate as well, which I am sure will be in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, that there is a better way to resolve these issues than to have these legal disputes with the EU,” he said. dit.
In response to suggestions that the UK might ignore the ECJ rulings against it, given Johnson’s plans to break previous agreements, Šefčovič said the UK’s reputation was at stake.
He said: “Failure to respect the rulings of the European Court of Justice will only lead to one violation of international law over another.
“Is this path compatible with the proud British traditions of defending and respecting the rule of law and international law in this regard? So I would say that this is the political issue I am raising and of course how they will look. other potential partners in the UK when negotiating agreements.
“Will they change in one year, in two years? Will they really stick together? Will they be respected? “
There is anger in EU capitals over the Downing Street approach, with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin describing his most recent call with Johnson as the worst of his political career.
Miguel Berger, Germany’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, warned on Wednesday that countries such as China and Russia were looking “very closely” at the UK’s position on international law, and called the issue “very serious”. .
Boris Johnson says the plan to change the Northern Ireland protocol “is not a big deal”: video
Johnson said the draft law rewriting the agreements for Northern Ireland was both “trivial” in scope and also legal because of the “need” to breach treaty obligations in the face of a risk to balance of the Good Friday agreement.
In response to EU legal action, a government spokesman said on Wednesday it was “disappointing” but that Brussels had been uncompromising in refusing to change the text of the Brexit deal.
Šefčovič rejected these allegations. “Let there be no doubt that there is no legal or political justification for unilaterally changing an international agreement,” he said. “Opening the door to unilaterally changing an international agreement is also a violation of international law.”
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According to the protocol agreed by Johnson in 2019, Northern Ireland remains in the single market and EU customs rules apply to the Irish Sea to avoid a border on the island of Ireland. Under the new legislation, the government would eliminate checks for companies selling British products to Northern Ireland instead of the EU.
The government plans to create a “green lane” with fewer checks for those selling goods destined for Northern Ireland and a “red lane” with existing checks for goods destined for EU countries. EU officials said they did not see much difference between the proposal and the one presented by the European Commission for a “fast lane”.
However, the legislation would allow UK companies exporting to Northern Ireland to choose between complying with EU or UK regulatory standards, which are expected to diverge more and more. EU officials said this posed a risk to the single market and that current agreements and the lack of enforcement had already been a stimulus for smugglers.
Other measures include the modification of the supervision of commercial disputes so that they are resolved through independent arbitration instead of the European Court of Justice. “Removing the role of the court is out of the question,” he added.
Brussels remains open to further talks and two papers have been published highlighting the flexibility offered to ease the burden of controls on goods entering Northern Ireland.
An official said: “We know that the UK is suggesting that as a result of the protocol, for a single truck moving from Sainsbury’s in the UK to Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland a large amount of procedures, and what we are. Posting today are documents that say, no, it’s actually three pages for an entire truck. “