A senior EU official has urged the Boris Johnson government to move beyond Brexit and work with the bloc in the face of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.
Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president of the European Commission in charge of relations with the United Kingdom, reiterated his criticism of the government’s “illegal” plan to break parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, two days after the bill overcomes its first hurdle in the House of Commons.
He also made his most direct call to date to London to turn the page. “It’s time to end Brexit,” Šefčovič said, turning the Prime Minister’s 2019 election slogan against him. “In the face of Russia’s brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine, it is clearer than ever that the EU and the United Kingdom United are natural allies, “he added. “When rule-based order is under pressure, strengthening Western unity should be our moral imperative.”
He was speaking at Bloomberg headquarters in London, where David Cameron launched his unfortunate attempt to renegotiate the UK’s place in the EU nine and a half years ago.
In that 2013 speech, the then Conservative prime minister said the UK would continue to be tied to the EU by a complex network of legal commitments. “If we leave the EU, of course, we cannot leave Europe,” said Cameron, a line that Šefčovič cited when calling for “strong strategic relations between the EU and the UK.”
In a timely disapproval of the current Prime Minister’s change of position on the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed with the EU in 2019, Šefčovič said: “I agree with Prime Minister Johnson’s 2019 assessment that the protocol it is fully compatible with the Good Friday (Belfast) agreement. ”
Under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Northern Ireland remains largely in the EU’s single market to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The Slovak official said the protocol offered Northern Ireland the best of both worlds, or “having the jam on either side of the bread”. Under the agreement, the region can easily trade with the EU, as well as benefit from any trade agreement the UK signs with the rest of the world.
He accused the government of not getting involved, which he said was “extremely disappointing, as most people in Northern Ireland can appreciate the benefits and positive opportunities that the protocol brings”.
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An opinion poll from Queen’s University Belfast, published on Wednesday, showed that 55% of people in Northern Ireland think the protocol is an appropriate deal, although 59% thought it was having an impact. negative in political stability in Northern Ireland and in British relations with the Republic of Ireland.
Šefčovič reiterated his offer to reduce protocol bureaucracy, but said it was “unrealistic and unfair” for London to expect all barriers to be removed when goods travel to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
The government has said companies should be able to choose between a British or EU regulatory regime, which Šefčovič said would “bury them under a mountain of bureaucracy”.
In private, commission officials have expressed skepticism that the Northern Ireland Protocol bill will never become law, although Johnson predicted it would be in the law books by the end of the year.