Unrest and violent incidents led by young unionists tense the situation as negotiations resume
Negotiations on the implementation of the ‘Brexit’ agreement for Northern Ireland resume today in Brussels, in a climate of skepticism and mutual mistrust. The British Secretary of State for relations with the EU, David Frost, will resume the pulse towards his goal of transforming the Irish Protocol, which he negotiated in the months prior to its approval, in autumn 2019, by the first minister, Boris Johnson. On the other side, Deputy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will defend the latest “practical measures” offered to speed up controls and customs requirements in the transit of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In the background remains the reluctance of unionist leaders to accept a divorce pact with the Union that has created a customs border within the United Kingdom. Two armed individuals stopped and burned a bus this week in an eminently unionist area outside Belfast. The incident, in which there were no injuries, wanted to mark the ultimatum of the main Protestant force, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which had threatened to collapse the autonomous government if changes in the protocol had not been secured by that day.
The leader of the DUP, Jeffrey Donaldson, condemned the “thugs and hooded men” who perpetrated the act of violence, but did not withdraw his threat to cause the downfall of the Executive shared with Sinn Fein. “Whoever believes for a moment that setting buses on fire will have some impact on the terms of our campaign to remove the border from the Irish Sea does not live in the real world,” said the still Westminster MP. It was the second Protocol-related outbreak of street violence since the worst riots in April.
Incidents
The tension escalated Wednesday night after a protest at an intersection between the two divided communities that culminated in clashes with the police. “Nobody wants to see an escalation and the return of the images of the past,” said the regional police chief, Simon Byrne. So-called ‘lines of peace’ – airtight walls and gates often made of aluminum – cut off the traffic of vehicles and people between Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods that burned frequently during decades of sectarian assassinations and IRA bombings. Unionist-Loyalist elements reignited the spark, which was about to explode into open conflict with national neighbors. Two boys of 12 and 15 years old ended the night at the police station.
Meanwhile, the EU has proposed measures to mitigate red tape in the trade of goods destined for Northern Ireland, without the risk that they reach the south of the island. However, days ago, Sefcovic expressed his distrust in the seriousness and willingness of the Johnson government to analyze the community offer and ensure the success of the negotiations. His fear is that London will “take the path of confrontation.”
In turn, Frost rejects the Protocol that, he claims, the British Government negotiated from a weak position, undermines the integrity of the United Kingdom and does not respect the principle of inter-community consensus of the Good Friday Agreement.
London and Paris prolong their dispute over canal fishing
No solution was found, but talks will continue next week. It is the only conclusion of the meeting held this Thursday in Paris by the French Minister for Europe, Clement Beaune, and his British counterpart, David Frost. The dispute persists over the access of European fishing vessels to areas of the English coast and the Channel Islands, where they were fishing before Brexit. The two governments do not even agree on the number of licenses rejected, between 124 and 200 vessels.
They engaged, according to Beaune, in a “useful and positive discussion” that marked the “restart of the political dialogue between France and the United Kingdom within the context of the EU”. Downing Street noted that “both parties have expressed their positions and concerns.”
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