EU Warns Next PM Unilateral Action on Brexit Deal Is of ‘Great Concern’

THE GUARDIAN: European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, says it is ‘legally and politically inconceivable’

EU Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič. Photograph: Martin Divíšek/EPA
The EU has warned the incoming British prime minister, likely to be Liz Truss, that any unilateral action to scrap part of the Brexit deal is legally and politically of “great concern” across the continent.

The warning by the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, comes just days before the new prime minister is expected to confirm they will press ahead with new laws to dismantle the arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Truss and Sunak have both committed to carrying through with the Northern Ireland protocol bill in their leadership campaigns, despite the threat of a retaliatory trade war with the EU.

“The unilateral action is naturally of great concern,” Šefčovič told an audience that included invited ministers from the British and Irish governments. » | Lisa O'Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Friday, September 2, 2022

Johnson Risks Breakup of UK over Northern Ireland Protocol, Says Varadkar

THE GUARDIAN: Ireland’s deputy PM accuses No 10 of making ‘shocking’ blunders with protocol bill

Leo Varadkar, pictured with Boris Johnson in 2019: ‘It is not normal for a democratic government in a respected country to sign a treaty and then try to pass domestic legislation to override it.’ Photograph: Getty Images
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, has accused the British government of risking the break-up of the United Kingdom and making “shocking” blunders over Northern Ireland.

Varadkar said Boris Johnson’s administration had been undemocratic and disrespectful and tacitly accused it of being dishonest and dishonourable.

The tánaiste made the sharp attack in a BBC interview on Thursday night, days after the Northern Ireland protocol bill – which could override the Brexit deal – cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons.

“I think that’s a strategic mistake for people who want to maintain the union because if you continue to impose things on Northern Ireland that a clear majority of people don’t want, that means more people will turn away from the union. It’s a peculiar policy coming from a government that purports to want to defend the union,” he said. » | Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent | Friday, July 1, 2022

Michael Lambert: Why Time Is Running Out for Boris Johnson Who Says He Will Not Change

Jun 25, 2022 • Time is running out for Boris Johnson. He says he will not change despite the mass of problems which he faces. The economy is doing badly post-Brexit, a major strike of railwaymen is taking place with many more strikes planned by other sectors.

He has threatened a trade war with the EU by wanting to introduce legislation to override the Northern Ireland Protocol. Food supplies are threatened later this year, and there are now said to be more food banks in the UK than branches of MacDonalds.

Many MP's are worried that Johnson is no longer an election winner but an election loser and it is likely that the 1922 committee will arrange another Vote of No Confidence in the Prime Minister very soon.

The OECD, the OBR, the LSE and others all predict a sharp decline in the British economy as a direct result of Brexit.

'Let's Call a Spade a Spade - This Is Illegal' - the EU Takes Action against the UK

Jun 15, 2022 • The EU has begun legal action against the UK following the Government's decision to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Maros Sefčovič had acted illegally in ignoring parts of the deal they with the EU.

He said the move had damaged trust and respect between the EU and the UK.


Related video.

'Let's Call a Spade a Spade': EU Resumes Legal Action against UK over New NI Protocol Bill

Jun 15, 2022 • The EU's Brexit commissioner has confirmed the body has decided to take fresh legal action against the UK over its new legislation bypassing sections of the Northern Ireland protocol. Along with reviving the infringement process it launched in 2021, the EU is initiating two more processes – accusing the UK of failing to comply with provisions in the protocol relating to controls at border posts and the sharing of data

UK Reveals Plans to Ditch Parts of EU Brexit Deal

Read the BBC article here.

UK risks EU trade war as Northern Ireland protocol bill is published: Liz Truss says bill will ‘fix’ post-Brexit trade problems but legal experts and some Tory MPs say move is illegal under international law »

Boris Johnson and his band of jesters, Liz Truss included, behave appallingly.

How can one possibly be proud of one’s country when one’s government flouts international law like this and reneges on the very treaty it has signed, even with fanfare.

It is high time that this excuse for a government be kicked out of office. Surely, with our illustrious history, the United Kingdom can do better than this. – © Mark Alexander

The Guardian View on Overriding the Brexit Treaty: A National Disgrace

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: Boris Johnson’s plans to shred the Northern Ireland protocol have no basis in law, economics or diplomacy

There is no good reason for the UK to sabotage relations with its European neighbours, but doing it to score ideological points with a small faction of the prime minister’s supporters is exceptionally poor judgment. Yet that is what Boris Johnson intends to do with legislation, now said to be due for publication next week, to override the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit deal he signed in 2019.

The ostensible trigger is the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont, caused by the Democratic Unionist party’s refusal to form an administration with Sinn Féin. The DUP objects to the basis of the protocol – the requirement for customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea – and wants it rewritten. The EU offers modifications in the way that the treaty is implemented, saying checks are necessary to prevent Northern Ireland becoming an unregulated backdoor into the single market. » | Editorial | Thursday, June 9, 2022

Brexit: PM to unveil plans to scrap parts of NI Protocol agreed with EU: Boris Johnson will later publish plans to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal he struck with the EU in 2020. »