https://sputnikglobe.com/20220517/truss-ready-to-unveil-ni-protocol-changes-despite-pressure-from-us-1095567355.html
Truss Ready to Unveil NI Protocol Changes Despite Pressure From US
Truss Ready to Unveil NI Protocol Changes Despite Pressure From US
Sputnik International
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis denied speculation that legislation to amend the EU Withdrawal Agreement had been delayed after a high-profile... 17.05.2022, Sputnik International
2022-05-17T12:17+0000
2022-05-17T12:17+0000
2023-05-28T15:19+0000
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The British government will reveal its plans to overhaul the problematic Northern Ireland Protocol in Parliament later on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will unveil legislation tied to Downing Street's plan to invoke Article 16 of the protocol which allows either the UK or European Union to take special measures if trade or social stability is threatened.Truss will argue that rather than safeguarding the Good Friday peace agreement, the EU's application of the protocol is endangering it."Liz will say today this is all about protecting the peace process and Belfast Good Friday Agreement — it's our duty as a government to preserve peace and stability in a nation of our United Kingdom," a Foreign Office source told Sky News. Truss is likely to argue that the protocol is undermining the Good Friday Agreement in three ways, firstly "disrupting the power sharing institutions" and posing a "barrier" to forming a new devolved executive.She will also argue that it has "unworkable relationships" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the loyalist and nationalist communities in the north. Thirdly she will say it has made an "unsustainable situation" for the UK internal market.But the hold-up in forming a new power-sharing administration is down the the Democratic Unionist Party's refusal to nominate a deputy first minister until customs checks on goods arriving from the British mainland.DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is in line to serve as deputy Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill after the republican party emerged as the largest minority party in the Stormont assembly in the May 5 elections.Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis denied that the legislation was being delayed after a delegation from the US congress attempted to interfere in Anglo-Irish relations.But he stressed that: "We have always said is that we will not take anything off the table. We will do what we need to do to ensure that products can move to Northern Ireland in the way that they should be able to move to Northern Ireland from Great Britain as part of the United Kingdom internal market."Lewis said many firms operating in Northern Ireland, including major supermarkets, could ntot even move goods from depots in the mainland without going through EU customs checks and warned that the restrictions were set to get worse soon."What the EU is proposing now is that some of the checks we’ve had grace periods for – we are at a standstill at the moment where we are not fully applying some of the checks the EU wants – they actually want to bring those in, so they want to make matters materially worse for the people of Northern Ireland," the minister said.In a possible vindication of Downing Street's strategy, Brussels urged the UK to "engage" and come "back to the table" — after refusing to discuss the UK's problems with the protocol for months.Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney tweeted that he had spoken to Truss the night before ahead of a summit in Italy later that week."I made clear that breaking international law is not the answer to solving Protocol issues. The EU/UK negotiating teams haven’t met since Feb," he wrote. "Time to get back to the table."
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northern ireland protocol, liz truss, brandon lewis, good friday peace agreement, democratic unionist party (dup), sinn fein, ireland, united kingdom (uk)
northern ireland protocol, liz truss, brandon lewis, good friday peace agreement, democratic unionist party (dup), sinn fein, ireland, united kingdom (uk)
Truss Ready to Unveil NI Protocol Changes Despite Pressure From US
12:17 GMT 17.05.2022 (Updated: 15:19 GMT 28.05.2023) Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis denied speculation that legislation to amend the EU Withdrawal Agreement had been delayed after a high-profile delegation from the US Congress. But he warned that Brussels restrictions on trade between the mainland and Northern Ireland would soon get worse.
The British government will reveal its plans to overhaul the problematic Northern Ireland Protocol in Parliament later on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary
Liz Truss will unveil legislation tied to Downing Street's plan to invoke Article 16 of the protocol which allows either the UK or European Union to take special measures if trade or social stability is threatened.
Truss will argue that rather than safeguarding the Good Friday peace agreement, the EU's application of the protocol is endangering it.
"Liz will say today this is all about protecting the peace process and Belfast Good Friday Agreement — it's our duty as a government to preserve peace and stability in a nation of our United Kingdom," a Foreign Office source told
Sky News.
"Our argument is that it's an essential duty of government to safeguard peace, prosperity and stability in Northern Ireland," the source said. "We must protect the hard-won gains of the last 25 years. That is why we see no option now but to act to protect communities and support the ongoing functioning of its institutions."
Truss is likely to argue that the protocol is undermining the Good Friday Agreement in three ways, firstly "disrupting the power sharing institutions" and posing a "barrier" to forming a new devolved executive.
She will also argue that it has "unworkable relationships" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the loyalist and nationalist communities in the north. Thirdly she will say it has made an "unsustainable situation" for the UK internal market.
But the hold-up in forming a new power-sharing administration is down the the Democratic Unionist Party's
refusal to nominate a deputy first minister until customs checks on goods arriving from the British mainland.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is in line to serve as deputy Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill after the republican party emerged as the largest minority party in the Stormont assembly in the May 5 elections.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis denied that the legislation was being delayed after a delegation from the US congress
attempted to interfere in Anglo-Irish relations.
“Something like that this week was never on the cards. We’re still debating the Queen’s speech and won’t finish debating the Queen’s speech and voting on that until later this week, later tomorrow, so in that sense it was never on the cards,” Lewis told Sky News.
But he stressed that: "We have always said is that we will not take anything off the table. We will do what we need to do to ensure that products can move to Northern Ireland in the way that they should be able to move to Northern Ireland from Great Britain as part of the United Kingdom internal market."
Lewis said many firms operating in Northern Ireland, including major supermarkets, could ntot even move goods from depots in the mainland without going through EU customs checks and warned that the restrictions were set to get worse soon.
"What the EU is proposing now is that some of the checks we’ve had grace periods for – we are at a standstill at the moment where we are not fully applying some of the checks the EU wants – they actually want to bring those in, so they want to make matters materially worse for the people of Northern Ireland," the minister said.
In a possible vindication of Downing Street's strategy, Brussels urged the UK to "engage" and come "back to the table" — after
refusing to discuss the UK's problems with the protocol for months.
"Engaging with us on the basis of the proposals we put forward last October, engaging with us on those flexibilities, is a much better course than engaging unilaterally," said European Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney
tweeted that he had spoken to Truss the night before ahead of a summit in Italy later that week.
"I made clear that breaking international law is not the answer to solving Protocol issues. The EU/UK negotiating teams haven’t met since Feb," he wrote. "Time to get back to the table."
