Lord Frost’s new call to end sausage war with EU

BREXIT Minister Lord Frost will use a major speech to diplomats this week to call for an end to the ‘sausage war’ with the EU by making a ‘significant change’ to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Lord Frost is expected to use the address in Lisbon on Tuesday to argue that an amended agreement is key to bringing relations with Brussels back on to a better footing.

It comes as the European Commission is preparing to table proposals on Wednesday allowing British ‘national identity goods’ to keep flowing across the Irish Sea into the province – effectively overturning the EU’s ban on chilled meats such as sausages from the UK.

The protocol keeps the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic open, but checks must be made on goods from Britain.

A source close to Lord Frost said last night that the Minister would study the EU proposals as positively as possible, but ‘endless negotiation is not an option’. Despite his apparent victory in the sausage war, the source added that any solution ‘must go far beyond the sausages issue and deal with fundamentals such as the role of the European Court of Justice’.

In his speech, Lord Frost is expected to say: ‘No one should be in any doubt about the seriousness of the situation. That is why we are working to reflect the concerns of everyone in Northern Ireland, from all sides of the political spectrum, to make sure that the peace process is not undermined. The EU now needs to show ambition and willingness to tackle the fundamental issues at the heart of the protocol head on. The UK-EU relationship is under strain, but it doesn’t have to be this way. By putting the protocol on a durable footing, we have the opportunity to move past the difficulties of the past year.’

Lord Frost, who will be sharing a new legal text with the Commission, will add: ‘The Commission have been too quick to dismiss governance as a side issue. The reality is the opposite. The role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland and the consequent inability of the UK Government to implement the very sensitive arrangements in the protocol in a reasonable way has created a deep imbalance in the way the protocol operates. Without new arrangements in this area, the protocol will never have the support it needs to survive’.

A UK Government source said: ‘Whether in London, Dublin, Brussels or Belfast, nearly everyone now agrees that the protocol isn’t working as it should. That is a big change from the start of the year and we are glad the Commission is now working on solutions. The real question is whether the EU are prepared for the scale of changes needed. The prize on offer is a stronger UK-EU relationship which is focused on the future.’

The source added: ‘ Tinkering around the edges just won’t work. If the EU can’t show ambition and agree significant changes to the protocol, we will have to use Article 16 to make sure arrangements are in place that do safeguard the Belfast [Good Friday] Agreement and the peace process.’

‘Relationship’s under strain but it doesn’t have to be’