Trucks pass through security in the port of Larne in Northern Ireland.
Photographer: Mark Marlow / Bloomberg
Photographer: Mark Marlow / Bloomberg
Boris Johnson has threatened to suspend parts of the Brexit deal with Northern Ireland as a dispute escalates following the European Union’s threat to impose border controls on a wide range of vaccines.
The prime minister responded in parliament on Wednesday, claiming that he had “betrayed” the province by agreeing to the control of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland. The prime minister has said he will act.
“We will do everything we have to do, either legislatively or by invoking Article 16 of the Protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier along the Irish Sea,” Johnson told the House of Commons.
Traders have struggled with the disruption of goods to the province from the rest of the UK due to new customs controls and paperwork required in the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol agreed as part of the Brexit settlement with the EU, just over a month ago. Article 16 is an emergency that allows each party to intervene if the application of the Protocol ’causes serious economic, social or environmental problems’.
Tensions over Northern Ireland have risen sharply over the past week, especially since the European Commission announced that it had control of vaccine exports to Northern Ireland – blinds British and Irish governments and angry union political leaders.
Although the EU conceded that its decision was wrong and withdrew within hours, the debacle could reopen one of the most controversial aspects of the Brexit negotiations.
‘Betray’
‘I speak for all my constituents today when I tell you that the protocol betrayed us and made us bird like foreigners in our country, ”Democratic trade unionist Ian Paisley told Johnson in the House of Commons.
Under the terms of the Brexit agreement that Johnson signed, Northern Ireland – unlike the rest of the United Kingdom – remained in the EU’s customs union and internal market to prevent both from having a visible border with the Irish Republic created and decades of sectarian conflict resumed.
Instead, goods are confronted with complicated checks when crossing the Irish Sea. But to alleviate the pain, not all checks were instituted when the UK’s transition period after the Brexit ended on 31 December. Nevertheless, businesses have complained about delays and disruption as they transport goods from one part of the UK to another, while port staff are threatened with violence.
Photographer: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg
In a highly-worded letter seen by Bloomberg condemning EU action on vaccines, British Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove called on European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic to extend the grace periods for trade in some goods until 2023. meets Wednesday afternoon with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
‘Graffout’
In the letter, Gove described the Commission’s decision as a ‘serious error’, adding that ‘the feelings of disappointment were particularly sharp in view of the concerns that had already arisen about the practical operation of the protocol and the economic and social consequences thereof. ‘
Gove, when he updated the British parliament on Tuesday, was blunt about the damage he thought the EU had done, saying the European Commission in Brussels was ‘confused’.
“In recent days, we’ve seen an increase in community tension,” Gove said. “We will work in the coming days to solve the problems on the ground.”
Under the terms of the Brexit agreement, authorities were granted permission periods to control consignments between Great Britain and Northern Ireland with regard to supermarkets and their suppliers, chilled meat, medicines and parcel delivery. If they are extended to 2023, the arrangements will be scheduled for the next election to the Northern Ireland Assembly which would take place by May 2022.
‘Other space’
After appearing in Parliament on Wednesday, Johnson spoke with the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster. Paisley said the meeting is positive.
“The prime minister is in a very different space,” Paisley said. “He was blinded,” he added. “He has now moved away from the terrible language we saw that it was ‘dental problems’.”
Officials from both the EU and the UK have temporarily suspended some controls in the region’s ports following the Mid & East Antrim Council ” a surge in sinister and threatening behavior ”. These include ‘local graffiti referring to increasing tensions around the Northern Ireland Protocol and the description of port staff as targets’.
The EU has told staff in Northern Ireland not to go to work on Tuesday, a day after the region stopped physical inspections of products of animal origin in the ports of Belfast and Larne amid safety. The document control will continue and the measure will be reviewed, the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.
– With the help of Emily Ashton, Peter Flanagan and Tim Ross