We thought we had seen it all with Brexit. Mistake. London and Brussels are again engaged in a brutal confrontation, after a new provocation from the British government.
Against all odds, Boris Johnson has decided to question the divorce treaty that he negotiated hard with the European Union (EU) less than a year ago and which sets the conditions for the separation between the two ex-partners. And as in 2019, the prospect of a “no deal” resurfaces when the United Kingdom will have left Europe on December 31 and the negotiations on their “future relationship” are slipping.
Thursday September 10, after an exchange “Without affect”, according to a participant, between European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic and British Minister of State Michael Gove, Brussels issued an ultimatum to Downing Street, calling on the British government to ” remove (…) Before the end of the month “ the bill, which revisits certain aspects of the divorce agreement, in particular the protocol on Northern Ireland, the primary objective of which is to preserve peace between the two Irish.
“This bill leaked to the press, London had informed neither Dublin nor Belfast. It is unforgivable ”, takes offense to a relative of the negotiations on the European side.
In 2019, after three years of disagreements, London and Brussels had finally found an arrangement to avoid the return of a “hard” border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: the British province had to both stay aligned with European standards set within the framework of the Community internal market (to which the neighboring Republic belongs) and be part of the British customs union.
Strong swirls
Tabled in the House of Commons on September 9, the “Internal Market Bill” provides that in the event of disagreement between the United Kingdom and the Twenty-Seven on the application of this “Irish protocol”, London will be able to decide which regime state aid will apply to Northern Ireland and what kind of customs controls will be imposed on goods transiting between Belfast and Great Britain. With this text, confessed on September 8, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brendan Lewis, the country could violate “In a limited and specific way” international treaties.
Approved by Boris Johnson and ratified by both houses of the British Parliament, the Withdrawal Agreement “Is a legal obligation”, and can neither be “Modified”, nor “Clarified”, nor “Amended”, nor “Interpreted” the Commission insisted on Thursday. Minister Michael Gove responded defiantly: UK “Will not withdraw” the Internal Market Bill. Moreover, the bill should be discussed at second reading in the House of Commons on September 14 and then go to parliamentary committees the next day …
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