Trucks go through security at the port of Larne in Northern Ireland.
Photographer: Mark Marlow / Bloomberg
Photographer: Mark Marlow / Bloomberg
Boris Johnson threatened to suspend parts of the Brexit deal involving Northern Ireland as a dispute escalated after the European Union threatened to impose controls at the border in a spit-over over the vaccine supply.
The prime minister responded in parliament on Wednesday to claims he had “betrayed” the province by agreeing to controls on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, saying he would act.
“We will do whatever we need to do, whether legislative or even by invoking Article 16 of the protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier along the Irish Sea,” Johnson told the House of Commons.
Traders have faced disruptions in moving goods into the county from the rest of the UK due to new customs controls and paperwork required by the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol agreed as part of the Brexit settlement with the EU, just over a month ago. Article 16 is an emergency trigger allowing either party to intervene if the application of the Protocol causes “serious economic, social or environmental problems”.
Tensions over Northern Ireland have risen significantly over the past week, especially since the European Commission announced it would activate Article 16 controls exports of vaccines to Northern Ireland, blinding British and Irish governments and infuriating unionist political leaders.
Although the EU admitted its decision was wrong and withdrew within hours, the debacle threatens to reopen one of the most controversial aspects of the Brexit negotiations.
‘Betray’
“Today I speak on behalf of all my constituents when I tell you that protocol betrayed us and made us to feel like foreigners in our country, ”Democratic unionist Ian Paisley told Johnson in the House of Commons.
Under the terms of the Brexit deal Johnson signed, Northern Ireland – unlike the rest of the UK – remained in the EU’s customs union and internal market to avoid both a visible border with the Irish Republic. was created as the beginning of decades of sectarian conflict.
Instead, goods face complex controls when crossing the Irish Sea. But to ease the pain, not all controls were put in place when the post-Brexit transition period in the UK ended on December 31. have experienced violence.
Photographer: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg
In a strongly worded letter seen by Bloomberg condemning the EU’s action against vaccines, UK Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove called on European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic to extend grace periods for trade in certain goods to 2023. meet on Wednesday afternoon, together with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
‘Serious error’
In the letter, Gove described the Commission’s decision as a “grave error”, adding that “the feelings of disappointment were particularly acute given the concerns already raised about the practical operation of the protocol and its economic and social consequences” .
Gove updated the UK parliament on Tuesday and was blunt about the damage he thought the EU had done, saying the European Commission in Brussels had “screwed up”.
“In recent days we’ve seen an increase in tension in the community,” said Gove. “We will work in the coming days to resolve the issues on the ground.”
Under the terms of the Brexit deal, authorities were given grace periods for controls on shipments between Great Britain and Northern Ireland related to supermarkets and their suppliers, chilled meat, medicines and parcel delivery. Extending them to 2023 would extend the arrangements beyond the next Northern Ireland Assembly elections scheduled for May 2022.
‘Different space’
Ahead of his appearance in parliament on Wednesday, Johnson held talks with Northern Ireland’s prime minister, Arlene Foster. Paisley said the meeting was positive.
“The Prime Minister is in a very different space,” said Paisley. “He was blinded,” he added. “He’s now gotten away from that awful language that we saw was just ‘teething troubles’.”
Officials from both the EU and the UK have temporarily halted some checks in the region’s ports after what the Mid & East Antrim Council called “an increase in sinister and threatening behavior”. That included “graffiti in the local area referring to growing tensions around the Northern Ireland Protocol and describing port workers as targets.”
The EU told staff working in Northern Ireland not to go to work on Tuesday, a day after the region halted physical inspections of products of animal origin in the ports of Belfast and Larne for security reasons. Document checks will continue and the measure will be monitored, the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
– With the help of Emily Ashton, Peter Flanagan and Tim Ross