EU warns UK of possible suspension of Northern Ireland protocol

Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, at a press conference at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on November 5, 2021, after a meeting with the UK’s Minister for Brexit, David Frost-Pool/AFP

The European Union on Friday (5) warned the United Kingdom that suspending a post-Brexit trade agreement on Northern Ireland would have “serious consequences” for relations between former allies.

On Friday, the two parties held a new round of high-level negotiations to resolve the tensions arising from the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, amid British threats to suspend the agreement.

After the painful divorce from Brexit, London and Brussels at the end of 2020 signed an agreement on their trade relationship containing a special mechanism for Ireland, which immediately began to generate problems.

In the controversy, the EU has offered to ease the controls, but British officials insist that if there are no further concessions, they can trigger Article 16 of the treaty, which gives the parties the power to suspend the terms of the agreement.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic held a meeting in Brussels today with the British Minister for Exiting the European Union, David Frost, in a new attempt to find a way out to avoid division.

Arriving at the meeting, Frost said the UK did not intend to trigger Article 16 immediately, but added that that option remained “on the table”.

At the end of the meeting, Sefkovic went straight to the point and warned that “there is no doubt that invoking Article 16 to force a renegotiation of the Protocol would have serious consequences.”

Sefcovic added that such a step would be serious “for Northern Ireland because it would create instability and unpredictability”, as well as for relations between London and Brussels, because it would represent “a rejection of the European Union’s efforts to find a consensual way out”. .

– “disappointing” –

According to Sefkovic, the EU has already made concessions, “but so far we have not seen any action from the UK. It is disappointing, and I urge the British government to deal with us sincerely.

In turn, a British government source in London announced that Frost expressed to Sivkovic at Friday’s meeting his conviction that “the EU’s proposals do not effectively address the fundamental difficulties in implementing the protocol.”

So, arriving at the meeting place in Brussels today, Frost told reporters that there were still “big differences” to be overcome in the negotiations.

In the face of this scenario, a European diplomat in the Belgian capital noted that the EU is already making preparations for the issue of London’s activation of Article 16, but warned that there would be a “strong reaction” in Europe.

This reaction, according to the source, could lead to the complete suspension of the EU-UK trade agreement, a rupture scenario that would lead to unpredictable economic consequences.

Sefkovic and Frost will meet again next week in London, in another attempt to avoid a breakup.

At the same time, the United Kingdom and France are locked in an intense dispute over fishing rights, which is another byproduct of the agreements between London and Brussels.