LONDON — The U.K. aims to introduce its controversial bill to override parts of the Brexit deal it negotiated with the European Union within the next three weeks, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has signaled.
Parliament is not sitting next week and officials in charge of legislation are eyeing the fortnight following June 6. There is then a six-week window for the bill to pass the lower House of Commons before Parliament breaks for its summer vacation, planned for July 20.
“You are not going to see legislation this week,” Lewis said in an interview Monday. “We are doing some work to see that we cover all the key issues. This is something we want to put out there as soon as possible but not in the next couple of days.”
While the U.K. would prefer to reach a negotiated solution, the situation in Northern Ireland means Britain has to act, ministers argue. The government plans to proceed with the legislation in parallel to talks with the E.U. over the trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, a move that has escalated tensions with the bloc and raised the prospect of a trade war.
“We will see over the next few weeks, we are very open to having those conversations,” Lewis said. “Hopefully when we publish the legislation people will see it is actually very sensible, actually very logical, quite common-sense,” Lewis said.
“Maybe the E.U. will see the logic and show the flexibility to come to an agreement around that,” he said. “This legislation will allow us to ratify any agreement with the E.U. as well if we need to do that.”
Boris Johnson’s government is frustrated the deal it signed created a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U..K, snarling trade and contributing to the collapse of the region’s devolved government. But the plan risks sparking even greater disruption to commerce.
The E.U. is ready to suspend the entire trade agreement if Johnson makes good on his threats, and the bloc warned last week it was prepared to use “all measures” to punish the U.K. if the bill is enacted. With no majority in the upper House of Lords the U.K. government may have to force the measure through, but that would take even longer.
Lewis said he will host delegation of politicians from the U.S. at Hillsborough Castle on Wednesday to explain the U.K.’s view.
“We have got to get a resolution that works,” Lewis said, when asked what he will tell the U.S. lawmakers. “This has got to work for the people of Northern Ireland in terms of good flow of trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland, but Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and it has got to have good free-flow as part of the U.K. internal market and that is what the protocol set out to achieve.”
The U.S. group is led by Congressman Richard Neal who is the head of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives. Neal was due to meet Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Dublin Monday.
