British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the new law that will allow his government to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated with the Brexit deal “is not a big deal” and only introduces “trivial adjustments” to make it work. better.
(Also read: Boris Johnson seeks to overcome crisis with suspension of Northern Ireland protocol)
Johnson made these statements before the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is passed in the House of Commons (lower) this afternoonby which the British Executive will unilaterally replace the provisions that it negotiated in 2020 with the European Union (EU) with others that it considers more beneficial for the United Kingdom
The Conservative leader argued that the changes proposed by his foreign minister, Liz Truss, are actually “trivial adjustments in the wider context” of the situation and explained that fixing the flaws is a mere “bureaucratic change” and is “relatively simple”. ” do it.
He said it would be “a huge exaggeration” if Brussels reacts by instigating a trade war and said what London is trying to do is “simplify things to remove barriers to trade between Britain and Northern Ireland.”
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In his statements to the media, further denied that the UK is violating international law by acting unilaterally and maintained that it prevails to “respect the Good Friday agreement” of 1998, which ended decades of armed conflict in Northern Ireland and that, according to London, is being threatened
What does the Northern Ireland protocol look for?
The protocol, aimed at avoiding a physical border between the British province and the Republic of Ireland -which remains in the single community market-, establishes customs controls on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, which, for politicians unionist (pro-British) Northern Irishmen, threatens the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.
(It may interest you: the United Kingdom will present a rule that annuls parts of the Northern Ireland protocol)
In addition, the increased bureaucracy of the new system, which has not even been fully implemented yet, has caused supply shortages and exacerbated the crisis in the British region.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s second political force after the May 5 elections, refuses to form a power-sharing government with its Republican rivals Sinn Féin, which keeps the autonomous institutions blocked.
Announcing the bill in May, Truss explained that it will create a “green lane” so that goods from Britain destined only for consumption in Northern Ireland are exempt from the customs controls that will apply to those passing into Ireland. (“red lane”).
In any case, the text may take months to be approved, as the Labor Party has already indicated that it will vote against and it also has opposition within the conservative ranks themselves and in the (upper) House of Lords.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from Efe
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