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Summary
- EU has threatened Britain over post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade.
- If required, the EU could go in for any type of action required – be it legal, retaliatory, arbitration or tariff based.
- Britain has requested the bloc to be more flexible in finding a solution to the NI issue, given its fragile peace position.
The European Union (EU) has threatened the UK with retaliatory action in case it did not agree to implement the post-Brexit agreement in Northern Ireland (NI). Talks were held between the two parties on Wednesday, 9 June and broke up without any consensus.
Maros Sefcovic, Vice President, European Commission, said that the bloc’s patience with the UK was waning due to its failure to enforce checks on goods being exported to NI from mainland Britain.
There are numerous and fundamental gaps in the United Kingdom’s compliance with the agreement, he added. In case Britain takes any unilateral action in the days to come, the bloc will also react swiftly, Sefcovic insisted.
On the other hand, British Brexit minister David Frost said that the three-and-a-half hours’ long discussion was frank and honest. He elaborated that the dialogue had not broken down, and in fact, more meetings were planned in times to come. But he requested the bloc to be more flexible in finding a solution to the NI issue, given its fragile peace position.
Also Read: Irish Premier Urges UK and EU to Calmly Resolve NI Protocol Related Issues
The EU stand
If required, EU could go in for any type of action required – be it legal, retaliatory, arbitration or tariff based or anything else.
Recently, the UK had threatened to extend the grace period due to expire on 30 June for shipping chilled meat products to NI. Sefcovic does not want this to happen and wishes to find a mutually agreeable solution via dialogue.
Also Read: UK Reaches Landmark Deal with The EU on Fishing Rights
UK’s position
A UK official later reportedly clarified that the UK had not breached the agreement in any manner whatsoever. In fact, the agreement has itself been designed to provide wide margins to respond to events, he added. He also said that the nation did not wish to get into any kind of trade war with the bloc.
The two sides had signed a post Brexit deal last December. They had also negotiated a separate deal for NI to avert any unchecked goods entering the EU, as Northern Ireland has Britain’s only land border coinciding with the bloc.
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Also Read: Brexit Woes: Exports to UK From Europe Sank by Record 27.4% In January
The NI viewpoint
The port checks on goods entering NI from mainland Great Britain (namely from England, Wales and Scotland) have led to distress among the Northern Irish unionists. They say that this arrangement alters their position in the wider UK.
These port checks were to be suspended earlier this year since the NI protocol had led to the worst violence in years in the region.
Moreover, a higher amount of paperwork for items moving from mainland Britain to NI had led to delays and shortages in shops.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he wanted to prioritise the right of the NI people to have access to goods and services from the entire UK.
