Warning to Britain: ‘Do not touch the Northern Ireland Protocol’

Status: 05/10/2022 7:30 p.m

At Brexit, it was agreed that special customs rules would apply to Northern Ireland. Chancellor Scholz and Belgian Prime Minister de Croo have now urgently warned Great Britain against lifting these regulations.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo have warned the British government against terminating the customs regulations for Northern Ireland agreed at Brexit – the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. After a conversation with de Croo in Berlin, Scholz said the protocol was a “good regulation”.

No one should override or break the rules we have agreed upon together.

The EU Commission is ready with the greatest pragmatism to solve problems in the implementation of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. “But that should also be the path we continue to take,” said Scholz. De Croo also warned London against unilateral steps: “Our message is very clear: don’t touch it. That’s something we’ve agreed on.”

Why is the Ireland Protocol important?

The protocol aims to ensure that EU rules apply in Ireland without the need for rigid border controls to be introduced between EU member Ireland and Britain’s Northern Ireland. So it includes a special customs regulation for the divided island. A termination of the protocols would render all Brexit rules obsolete, explained de Croo at the meeting with Scholz.

In the general election in Northern Ireland, the Catholic Sinn Fein party came out on top for the first time. It aims to unite Northern Ireland and Ireland. However, because the regional government, according to the 1998 peace agreement, must be led jointly by Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists, it is currently difficult to form a government on the island.

In practice, this now means that the pro-British DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) must agree to the formation of a government. However, the DUP is against the special status for Northern Ireland in the Brexit agreement and has so far blocked the formation of a new regional government.

Johnson sees protocol as not ‘viable’

After the election, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin had already warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson against wanting to unilaterally override the rules agreed with the EU for trade in British-led Northern Ireland after Brexit.

A decision in this regard has not yet been made, a spokesman for Johnson said on Tuesday. In a telephone conversation with Martin, however, Johnson had emphasized that the regional elections in Northern Ireland had “shown again that the protocol in its current form is not sustainable”.

Reports of Termination

According to a newspaper report, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wants to scrap large parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The ministry is said to have drafted a law that would unilaterally lift all controls on goods from Great Britain. A corresponding announcement is expected next week, according to the newspaper report.

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