Frost: EU needs to shake off Brexit ill will
BREXIT minister Lord Frost has called on the EU to ‘shake off any remaining ill will’ towards the UK.
The European Commission said it would launch legal action after the UK announced it was extending a series of ‘grace periods’ designed to ease trade between Northern Ireland, which remains in the single market for goods.
Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost said last week the move should allow time for constructive discussions with counterparts in the EU.
But Brussels accused the UK of going back on its treaty obligations in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement intended to ensure there is no return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Lord Frost had said the move was lawful and designed to protect the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland. ‘Our agenda is one of an outward-looking country, confident we can work with others towards common goals,’ he said.
Asked about Lord Frost telling Brussels to stop sulking at Brexit, Boris Johnson said there were ‘various technical issues we are going to iron out’. But Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff and the top British negotiator in Northern Ireland from 1997 to 007 said Lord Frost had chosen to ‘poke a stick in the eye’ of the bloc.
Meanwhile, the US has again stressed president Joe Biden’s support for the Good Friday Agreement, which the protocol is intended to protect.