Overriding the Protocol
The Government unveiled a bill this week that would override parts of the Brexit deal, in an effort to curtail the influence of the EU in Northern Ireland and ease burdens on trade between mainland Britain and the province. If enacted, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill would mean goods from Great Britain that are destined to stay in Northern Ireland would pass through a “green channel” with no checks; those destined for onward travel to Ireland and elsewhere in the EU would go through checks in a red lane. The bill would also end the European Court of Justice’s role in enforcing the Northern Ireland Protocol (which governs the region’s post-Brexit trading arrangements) and end EU control over state aid and VAT in the province.
In response, the EU announced that it was taking legal action against the UK, which it accused of breaking international law by violating the terms of the withdrawal agreement. Brussels claimed that the UK was guilty of abandoning “constructive cooperation” over the Protocol; the Irish government said the UK’s stance represented a “new low” in bilateral relations.
What the editorials said
The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is right to pursue these changes, said the Belfast News Letter. True, the planned bill wouldn’t lead to a “full return to the UK internal market” as we knew it before Brexit. But it would at least allow for an almost free flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the direction in which most problems have occurred. Saner voices in the EU know that the Protocol doesn’t work, said The Sun. Trouble is, only the UK wants to “fix it”.
Actually, the EU has shown commendable flexibility on this issue, said The Times. “It is the British Government that has refused to participate in formal negotiations since February.” It has only decided to act now because of the refusal of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to serve on the Northern Ireland Executive until the Protocol is effectively scrapped – a stance that puts the future of powersharing under the Good Friday Agreement at risk. Whatever the motives, the decision to breach a treaty signed only two years ago is a “dangerous move”, says the Irish Independent. It undermines EU-UK relations at a “critical juncture in European affairs”, and damages Anglo-Irish ties. The EU has “little option but to issue a tough response”.
What the commentators said
Remainers may be aghast at this bill, said Andrew Tettenborn in The Daily Telegraph, but it’s actually a perfectly reasonable response to the EU’s current policy of trying to “drive a wedge” between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In fact, it may not even come into force: the bill merely gives the Government powers that it could choose to exercise in future. These “moderate” proposals are entirely sensible, said Daniel Hannan in the Daily Mail. The Protocol – which effectively entails “the regulatory annexation” of NI and is designed to “encourage Irish unity via economics” – has enraged Northern Ireland’s unionists. And it has also caused huge economic disruption, adding “hundreds of millions of pounds in bureaucracy”.
“Everybody – including the EU – accepts that there are problems with the implementation of the Protocol,” said Fintan O’Toole in The Guardian. But this bill won’t fix anything; rather, it will “add further complexity” to GB-NI trade by creating a “dual regulatory regime”. It’s also a “nakedly partisan intervention” in Northern Irish politics, said Philip Rycroft in Prospect. Sinn Féin, the biggest party in May’s elections, supports the Protocol; but Downing Street has sided firmly with its second-placed rival, the DUP. Of course, it’s possible that the bill is simply “a giant negotiating bluff” aimed at getting the DUP back into Northern Ireland’s Executive and forcing EU concessions on the Protocol. But if the Government’s gamble doesn’t pay off, there’s every chance it could ignite a trade war with Brussels that the UK can ill afford (see page 45).
The time has come for Britain to compromise with the EU, said Iain Martin in The Times. In the 18 months since the Brexit deal came into force, its drawbacks have become increasingly clear. True, Brexit Britain has enjoyed successes such as the vaccine rollout, but British firms “continue to struggle with the bureaucracy of selling goods and services to the EU”. Exports to the bloc in 2021 were down almost 12% on 2018; delivery problems abound. If these issues are to be fixed, “the emphasis must shift” from “hostility” to negotiation in good faith.
What next?
As well as launching legal action, Brussels is likely to respond to the bill by immediately suspending cooperation with Britain on issues ranging from fishing to financial services, The Times reports. Privately, Brussels has said that it will impose targeted tariffs on British exports – starting a trade war – if Parliament passes the bill.
The DUP says that there is no timetable to return to powersharing at Stormont, insisting that the Government’s bill must progress through Parliament before such a step is taken. The House of Lords is widely expected to block the bill, says the FT, in which case No. 10 could use the little-used Parliament Act to bypass the Upper House.