Brussels must end its intransigence
In advance of his visit to the province yesterday, Boris Johnson wrote an article for a Northern Ireland newspaper setting out his vision for reforming the Protocol. His aim was not to scrap the deal, he said, but it had to be admitted that the delicate balance created by the Good Friday Agreement had been upset. East-west trade was not functioning as it should, much has changed since the Protocol was agreed and there was a need for pragmatic reforms that would tackle its shortcomings. This was hardly the belligerent sabre-rattling that the EU has been desperate to portray the Prime Minister as indulging in.
From the start of this process, the EU has been engaged in a sophisticated form of gaslighting. It presents itself as the saviour of the Good Friday Agreement, while ignoring the concerns of unionists that their position within the UK is being changed without their consent. Brussels has accused the UK of “bad faith”, while itself briefly invoking the Article 16 safeguard clause in a fit of pique over vaccine deliveries. During the negotiations, it declared that the UK had little choice but to agree to one unsatisfactory arrangement or another, as if these were inevitable consequences of Brexit. It did not like to mention that these were choices that Brussels was forcing on Britain because of a refusal to consider more innovative solutions to the Irish border issue.
Mr Johnson’s trip to Northern Ireland was designed to encourage the various parties in the province to restore power sharing. Few expected it to deliver immediate results. The DUP has said that it will not return to government until there has been decisive action on the Protocol, while Sinn Fein’s leader criticised the Prime Minister. Many voters just want a functioning administration, especially as Northern Ireland is afflicted by the same cost of living squeeze and problems with public services as the rest of the UK.
At the very least, Brussels ought to accept that it has a moral obligation to help fix this mess. However, common-sense reforms would be in its own interests, too, given that the Prime Minister retains the option of unilateral action, including the legislative solution he cited yesterday. But if the EU still refuses to budge, ministers need to make clear that they are serious about actually overriding the Protocol’s worst aspects rather than just threatening it. The status quo is unsustainable, and nothing will change until the hard realities facing Northern Ireland are finally confronted.