EU leaders have deplored UK government intentions to take unilateral action and override the Northern Ireland Protocol, with one warning: “Don’t touch this”.
It comes after Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, rejected proposed EU solutions to fix issues related to the post-Brexit trading arrangements, claiming they would “take us backwards”.
The cabinet minister said her preference was for a negotiated solution, but added: “We will not shy away from taking action to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland if solutions cannot be found”.
Ministers are said to be preparing a draft legislation to unilaterally remove the need for checks on all goods being sent from Britain for use in Northern Ireland — a breach of the treaty signed by Boris Johnson in 2019 and a move that would put the UK on collision course with the EU.
Last night, Belgium’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, raised the prospect of retaliatory measures, as he warned the UK: “Our message is quite clear. Don’t touch this, this is something we agreed on.”
“If that agreement would be revoked, then I would think the whole system will be revoked. I would not see any other solution,” he added, according to The Telegraph.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, added: “No one should unilaterally scrap or break or in any way change the agreement we agree on together”.
Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission, also stressed that the Northern Ireland Protocol is a “cornerstone” of the Brexit deal and “renegotiation is not an option”.
“The European Union is united in this position,” he said, insisting the bloc had worked “tirelessly” to propose solutions,” he said in a statement.
Mr Sefcovic added: “The EU has been open to joint work with the UK on implementing the Protocol to bring long-term legal certainty and predictability to the people and business in Northern Ireland.
“The EU remains open to such discussions. Only joint solutions will work. Unilateral action by the UK would only make our work on possible solutions more difficult”.
Speaking on Wednesday, the cabinet minister Michael Gove reiterated that “no option is off the table”, but stressed the UK would continue to negotiate to resolve differences.
Asked on BBC Breakfast if the government was going to “tear up” the agreement, Mr Gove said: “No. We are going to negotiate with the EU in order to get the best possible outcome for the people of Northern Ireland, but no option is off the table.
“Liz Truss will be meeting Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, tomorrow. They have a good relationship. They will try to make progress tomorrow. I know that both of them are fully committed to making sure we resolve some very difficult issues that have arisen.
He added: “You would expect a UK government when it is thinking about the security of the entire United Kingdom to say that there is no option that is off the table and that is absolutely right.”
