Germany and Ireland criticised the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to unilaterally amend its obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying the violation of the post-Brexit Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union (EU) has “no legal or political justification.”
In a joint article written by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Irish counterpart Simon Coveney, the pair said the UK has not acted in “good faith” with the recent bill to overturn the protocol.
They stressed that the Bill would not “fix challenges” but instead “create a new set of uncertainties and make it more challenging to find durable solutions.”
Northern Ireland wants stability. Tearing up the Brexit agreement will put peace and prosperity at risk | Annalena Baerbock & Simon Coveney #brexit https://t.co/OUI4XqdM7r
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) July 3, 2022
In this regard, the article urged the British government to abandon its “unilateral approach” and work towards looking for a “common ground.” They said that this was particularly critical in light Russia’s military invasion into Ukraine, which highlighted the need to protect the “European peace order” by joining efforts of countries with shared values.
To this end, they emphasised that the EU “stands by the Protocol” and that the bloc’s proposals would “remain on the table.”
In particular, Baerbock and Coveney highlighted that the people of Northern Ireland support the Protocol, with 52 out of the 90 members of the legislative assembly recently put their weight behind the post-Brexit agreement.
They added that the protocol has had a positive impact on Northen Ireland, noting that its access to the EU’s single market has expedited its post-pandemic economic recovery, particularly in the manufacturing, dairy, and food industries.
Baerbock and Coveney thus argued that the Prootocol not only ensures the effective and continued implementation of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement reached 24 years ago but alsp protects Northern Ireland’s fragile economy.
Some Northern Ireland Protocol polling this morning, courtesy of those fine people at Queen's University. And no question of the headline figure - just 5% of Northern Ireland voters trust the UK government with respect to the Protocol. 47% trust the EU. 60% trust NI business. pic.twitter.com/aYFd0chDII
— David Henig 🇺🇦 (@DavidHenigUK) June 29, 2022
The Northern Ireland Protocol was drawn up to protect the Union’s single market amid Britain’s exit from the bloc and avoid maintaining a politically-sensitive hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK but remains part of the EU’s single market, and the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member country.
However, the Johnson administration has introduced the Northern Ireland Bill, which essentially seeks to reverse its obligations under the post-Brexit agreement. The UK has been demanding the removal of customs controls on goods being transported from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland. However, the EU says this demand would open a backdoor for British goods to enter the bloc’s single market unchecked.
Good to discuss the UK’s solutions to fix problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol with business leaders.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) June 27, 2022
We will continue to engage UK and EU businesses to make sure we have the best possible solutions in place. pic.twitter.com/jMVcqul6r6
The law will be debated in parliament on July 13 and is likely to be enforced as a law by the end of the year. The EU has threatened legal actions against the UK, saying the Bill violates international law.
Against this backdrop, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said that he had “never seen relations as bad” with UK than at this point in time. He remarked, “We have a British government that doesn’t want to work hand in glove with the Irish government, it’s not even handed, it's a government that wants to continue to have rows with the EU even though they've left.”
Varadkar also warned the government in the UK against imposing decisions on Northern Ireland, saying it could force people of the region to “turn away from the union” with the UK.
In fact, Northern Ireland unionist, pro-republican party Sinn Féin recently won assembly elections in the territory, raising the prospect of an imminent independence referendum. Varadkar, however, has said this isn’t the “appropriate or right” time.