DUP unease as London offers to remove Brexit ‘safety net’ in Internal Market Bill to get deal
THE Government has told Brussels it is ready to remove what the DUP calls Northern Ireland’s Brexit “safety net”.
London has said it will drop controversial clauses in a new law that breaches the Irish Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement if solutions are found in the coming days.
The move is an apparent olive branch as crunch trade talks continue in Brussels ahead of an expected meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later this week.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Northern Ireland needed the “safety net” offered in the UK Internal Market Bill as it stands.
“If those demands become unreasonable then you need a safety net. And if you need a safety net, you don’t need it until those negotiations are over, you need it whilst any part of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol is in place,” Mr Wilson told the House of Commons.
“And therefore I would like an assurance from the minister that if the Government does intend to withdraw this safety net if negotiations turn out fine this week, then what protection will there be for Northern Ireland from the depredations of the Withdrawal Agreement in the future? Because that’s important.
“This Bill is essential, the Government owes it to Northern Ireland having signed a disastrous agreement this time last year, and if the integrity of the UK is to be maintained then the provisions in this Bill, and indeed other provisions, are going to be necessary.”
Cabinet Office Minister Mi
chael Gove met his counterpart on the UK-EU joint committee in Brussels, although the discussions are separate from the trade negotiations.
The Government said it was prepared to remove three controversial clauses from the UK Internal Market Bill relating to the Irish border.
In a statement, the Government said the UK and EU have “worked constructively together through the Withdrawal Agreement joint committee”.
“Discussions continue to progress and final decisions are expected in the coming days. If the solutions being considered in those discussions are agreed, the UK Government would be prepared to remove clause 44 of the UK Internal Market Bill concerning export declarations.
“The UK Government would also be prepared to deactivate clauses 45 and 47 concerning state aid, such that they could be used only when consistent with the UK’S rights and obligations under international law.”
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney tweeted a link to the Government announcement af
ter earlier renewing a warning that the ratification of any trade deal would be put at risk if the IMB and another planned taxation Bill was passed.
Trade experts questioned how much the concession would sway Brussels.
David Henig, of trade think tank the European Centre For International Political Economy, said: “As trust-building measures go the offer not to break (a) treaty if you get what you want is about as limited as you can get. An olive leaf at best, definitely not the branch. And not a sign of a government confident to make concessions.”
Mr Johnson will travel to Brussels for talks with Ms von der Leyen in a late bid to break the deadlock in the trade talks.
Despite the commitment to a face-to-face meeting, the pair acknowledged significant differences remained with time running out before current trading arrangements expire at the end of the month.
UK sources said “no tangible progress” had been made during the negotiations, which were now looking “very tricky”.