Brexit Questions British Minister David Frost scored the European Union (EU) long-term cooling of relations with the UK, if disagreements under an agreement regulating trade with Northern Ireland will not be allowed, reports Associated Press.
According to Frost, the Protocol of Northern Ireland – the Commodity Agreement of the United Kingdom and the EU, adopted after Brexit, needs significant changes. “Rates are high, arguments can be fierce, and I worry that this process can cause cold distrust between us and the EU, which can affect our relationship,” Frost said.
After Brexit, Northern Ireland left the European Union as part of the UK, but remained part of the customs territory of the EU. Double status allowed to avoid the appearance of the border between the North and the rest of Ireland, but demanded the introduction of a number of measures for trade with Britain. According to the “North-Garland Protocol”, all goods entering the region from the rest of the United Kingdom through the naval border must be customs inspection. In this case, the land border remained open. Such measures are aimed at limiting the access of the British to a single European market, while maintaining the opening border between the North and the rest of Ireland.
Checks who under the protocol are subject to goods from Britain, caused dissatisfaction with the trade union community of Northern Ireland, as they impose burdensome bureaucratic red tape for business and weaken the relations of the territory with the rest of the UK. “This is not our position. It is obvious that on the issue of Northern Ireland will always need special agreements between the United Kingdom and the EU. This is a question of finding the right balance,” said Frost.
The British Minister noted that the transaction previously called successful now requires changes, and the “Northerland Protocol” is a revision, or cancellation, as it is inconsistent and vague. Within a few months, Frost achieved changes to the Agreement, but the EU has repeatedly refused to resume discussions after perennial negotiations. According to the British government, the only way to make the protocol work is to “significantly reduce or eliminate barriers”, which actually created the border along the Irish Sea.
Great Britain officially ceased to be a member of the European Union on February 1, 2020. After Brexit, the parties of the agreement collided with several problems concerning trade. Until the end of the 2020, Brussels and London were to agree on the format of future relations and conclude a new trade agreement, but the conflict concerning the supply of products to Northern Ireland continued – in the British media, the confrontation was called “War of Sausages”. According to London, the “Northrland Protocol” interferes with imports of products from other parts of the UK, since it involves the design of additional documentation.