EU Warns of Stalemate in Talks With U.K. Over N. Ireland Spat
EU Warns of Stalemate in Talks With U.K. Over N. Ireland Spat
(Bloomberg) --
The European Union warned that talks with the U.K. aimed at resolving a diplomatic spat over Northern Ireland are at risk of stalemate unless Boris Johnson’s government agrees to shift its stance.
Negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key part of the wider Brexit settlement, face stumbling blocs in three significant areas, a European Commission official told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
While there have been constructive talks on customs and other checks, and there’s scope for further discussions on state aid, the official said the U.K.’s position on the European Court of Justice is impossible for the bloc to accept.
The U.K. is demanding a major overhaul of the divorce deal it signed with the EU, arguing that its implementation is causing significant harm to businesses and communities in Northern Ireland. Johnson has repeatedly warned he will suspend part of the agreement if the EU doesn’t agree to re-write it.
As well as tackling disruption to trade between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain, the U.K. is demanding an end to the ECJ’s role in overseeing post-Brexit trading arrangements in the region.
That is a non-starter for the EU, and the U.K. is being disingenuous when it describes its proposals as a step forward in negotiations, the European Commission official said. In reality, the ECJ is part of a broader structure that the British government doesn’t accept, the official said.
According to the official, the EU’s chief negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, will tell his U.K. counterpart David Frost when they meet on London on Friday the bloc is prepared to work around the clock to achieve a solution that gives stability and certainty to Northern Ireland.
Border Checks
But the official warned that the current status quo in Northern Ireland, with its grace period on checks on many goods arriving from mainland Britain, can’t be the benchmark for a solution.
Under the Brexit divorce agreement, both sides agreed to an effective customs border in the Irish Sea, with Northern Ireland continuing to follow EU single market rules to avoid creating a hard border on the island of Ireland. It means that goods moving into Northern Ireland from Britain are subject to customs checks if they are at risk of being later moved into the EU.
Yet the so-called Northern Ireland protocol has angered unionists in the region ever since, and Johnson’s government has long said the conditions for invoking Article 16 -- which allows either side to take unilateral action to address disruption -- have been met.
Doing so would likely trigger a retaliatory response from the EU. There have been warnings in recent weeks that could involve the bloc suspending the wider post-Brexit trade deal, a move Frost told the U.K. Parliament on Wednesday would be a “massive and disproportionate retaliation.”
Meanwhile Sefcovic told EU diplomats on Wednesday in a closed-door briefing that he is pessimistic about the talks, saying London appears to be preparing to go ahead suspending parts of the deal over Northern Ireland, according to two EU diplomats briefed on the meeting.
EU member states were divided on how to react to a hardening of the British stance, with France, Belgium and several northern countries pushing for a very strong response, and a majority of nations urging dialog and a proportionate reaction, one of the diplomats said. One envoy expressed very serious doubts as to whether the U.K. is acting in good faith, the other diplomat said.
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