EU given two months to fix ‘dead in water’ NI Protocol

THE Northern Ireland Protocol is “dead in the water”, a senior ally of Boris Johnson has said as the Government gave the EU two months to make the system work.

Ministers are worried about the way that the EU is enforcing checks when goods move from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are fears that unless the EU eases checks for when Northern Ireland’s marching season reaches its peak on July 12, tensions could flare.

A government source said: “The marching season is a date whereby you would want to have a material improvement in what is happening. We need a bit of movement by then because that is when we risk seeing the kind of disruption and protests that we had recently.”

Under the terms of the protocol, signed as part of the UK’s exit from the EU, the checks are carried out to ensure no unauthorised goods are transported across the Irish border.

However, the Government estimates the EU is carrying out 20 per cent of its external border checks at the so-called “border in the Irish Sea”. This means that unnecessary checks are being carried out, as goods bound for Northern Ireland are disrupted, sources say.

One UK source said EU officials were

halting shipments of loaves of bread being transported from a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Liverpool to a sister store in Belfast, even though there are no Sainsbury’s shops in the Republic.

Lord Frost, Boris Johnson’s Brexit negotiator, and his team are examining the idea of “mutual enforcement” of border checks, in which either side enforces checks at the same level as the other, effectively removing them. However, the EU is said not to want to engage.

Officially the Government still wants to make the protocol work, with insiders insisting that the PM is not seeking to rip up a treaty just six months into Brexit, although nothing is ruled out.

One source said: “If they don’t make improvements in the next period of time obviously we are going to have to consider other options.”

The replacement of Arlene Foster as Democratic Unionist Party leader with the more hardline Edwin Poots on Friday has increased jitters in No10.

Senior allies of Mr Johnson are increasingly pessimistic with one describing the protocol to The Sunday Telegraph as “dead in the water”.

The senior ally added: “The Northern Ireland Protocol does not work. It contravenes the Good Friday Agreement in many ways. It is damaging.

“It is not a workable agreement.

Whatever you think about Arlene Foster, she was a moderate. And it is always dangerous when you start losing moderates from these key positions.”

Yesterday Mr Poots increased pressure over the protocol, pointing out that more than twice as many checks are carried out in Northern Irish ports as in Rotterdam.

He said it was “damaging Northern Ireland’s economy and undermining the Union” by “disrupting trade with our biggest and most important market”. He added: “No rational argument could be made for the protocol. It is madness and must go. We need to see action.

“The mechanisms are open to the Government to deal with this flawed protocol but the longer it is left untouched the more damage it is causing. We will be pressing the Government to act and act with urgency.”

A senior Government source said last night that the UK wanted to make the protocol work.

They said: “The EU’s strict approach to implementing the protocol is having a huge impact on the everyday lives of the people of Northern Ireland, and worse still, there are signs that it is upsetting the delicate balance of the peace process.

“We cannot tolerate unreasonable impacts on trade across the United Kingdom. This is not consistent with the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement or, therefore, with the protocol.

“We are continuing to work hard to resolve problems with the EU in a pragmatic way. If we cannot, as the PM has said, no options can remain off the table.”

‘No rational argument could be made for the protocol. It is madness and must go. We need to see action’