“We cannot go on like this,” said Frost in front of Parliament in London. It is true that the conditions for a unilateral termination of the corresponding protocol are given. But now is not the right time for it. Instead, a “new balance for the good of all” should be found through negotiations with the EU. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some parts of the protocol could be kept. There was initially no reaction from the EU.
The background to the dispute is the regulation stipulated in the Brexit agreement that Northern Ireland will continue to follow the rules of the EU internal market. This is to prevent goods controls between the British province of Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland. Otherwise the conflict in the former civil war region is expected to flare up again. The majority of Northern Irish insist on an open border with their neighbors.
The previous regulations are not suitable to secure peace in the former civil war region, said Frost. “As we have tried to implement the Protocol, it has become clear that its burdens have become a source of significant and ongoing damage to life and livelihood,” Frost continued. Therefore, a new equilibrium must now be created to facilitate trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Also, EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice should no longer play a role in monitoring compliance with the agreement.
Frost proposed a so-called “period of standstill” to the EU, during which the transition periods previously in force should be extended and legal disputes paused.
The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol makes trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK difficult. This is also causing tension, especially among the predominantly Protestant supporters of the union with Great Britain. Brussels accuses the UK government of not properly implementing the protocol. London, on the other hand, accuses the EU Commission of interpreting the agreement too petty.
US President Joe Biden has called on the government in London to abide by the agreements on Northern Ireland and to find a compromise with the EU.
