https://sputnikglobe.com/20220520/us-delegation-heads-to-europe-to-defuse-tensions-over-ni-protocol-broker-uk-eu-trade-deal--1095653126.html
US Delegation Heads to Europe to Defuse Tensions Over NI Protocol, 'Arrange' UK-EU Trade Deal
US Delegation Heads to Europe to Defuse Tensions Over NI Protocol, 'Arrange' UK-EU Trade Deal
Sputnik International
As the UK government announced earlier that it was poised to table legislation which could revoke parts of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, the... 20.05.2022, Sputnik International
2022-05-20T08:21+0000
2022-05-20T08:21+0000
2023-05-28T15:19+0000
us
joe biden
boris johnson
liz truss
post-brexit
northern ireland protocol
maros sefcovic
european union (eu)
united kingdom (uk)
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A nine-strong US delegation led by a close ally of US President Joe Biden is set to visit Brussels, London, Dublin, Kerry and Belfast in what is seen as Washington’s intervention into the spiralling tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol, reported The Guardian.The group, comprising both Democrat and Republican delegates from the House of Representatives and Senate, is led by chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal.The delegation was reportedly scheduled to kick off its six-day trip with a series of meetings in Brussels on Friday, with the European Commission’s vice-president and Brexit commissioner Maros Sefcovic.On Saturday, the group will head to London for meetings with UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow international trade secretary.According to the report, Richard Neal has requested a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is “hopeful” such talks can be arranged.‘Manifold Mission’The US delegation’s mission is purportedly to act on Washington’s position as co-guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday agreement and attempt to defuse tensions over the most contentious part of the original Withdrawal Agreement signed by the UK and EU in 2019. The post-Brexit deal entered into force on 1 February 2020, and consists, among others things, of a protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.Richard Neal has already voiced Washington’s disapproval over the UK government’s plan to draft legislation to scrap parts of the NI protocol despite warnings it could risk a full trade war with the EU.“I want to remind everybody in the UK, in Northern Ireland that it should not be treated as a cavalier achievement.”According to Neal, he had been entrusted by the Biden administration to pull the Government of Boris Johnson from the brink of breaching an international treaty less than two years old.“They haven’t breached it yet. They’re talking about breaching it, so part of my job is to convince them not to breach it,” said Neal.The NI protocol keeps Northern Ireland (in the UK) aligned with the EU single market for goods, thus dodging a hard border with the Republic of Ireland (which is in the European Union). The concession was conceived to safeguard a vital part of the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that put an end to decades of violence in Northern Ireland. However, the protocol entails some new checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and has been denounced by unionist politicians for driving a wedge between their community and the rest of the UK.The Democrat congressman confirmed that Biden had a “high level of interest” in appointing a special envoy to Northern Ireland. This is seen as echoing the move by then-president Bill Clinton to send Senator George Mitchell to Belfast in 1995 to help orchestrate peace in Northern Ireland. He signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 on the part of the US.The visit of the US delegation has been hailed by Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Kyle, as a welcome interjection amid threats by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) not to return to power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Assembly until the new legislation on the protocol was enacted.After London, the delegation will head to Dublin, capital of Ireland, to meet the Irish leaders and subsequently the Northern Ireland capital - Belfast - to meet Sinn Fein leaders and the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.Also on the itinerary is a meeting with an agriculture delegation in Ventry, County Kerry, the birthplace of Neal’s maternal family.The powerful US intervention comes after UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss set out plans on 17 May for legislation that could override key parts of the 2019 Brexit deal relating to the NI protocol, including waiving all checks on goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland where they are not destined for the Republic of Ireland. The Bill could be tabled “in the coming weeks”, said Truss, adding it was in response to the “very grave and serious situation” in Northern Ireland.This immediately drew a warning of retaliation from the EU ambassador to the UK.Brussels has repeatedly sent out warning signals that it is ready to take retaliatory action if London pushes ahead with plans to revise legislation unilaterally that will override the Northern Ireland protocol.The European Commission has pledged to resort to “all measures at its disposal” if the UK decided to move ahead with a Bill “disapplying constitutive elements of the protocol”.
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us, joe biden, boris johnson, liz truss, post-brexit, northern ireland protocol, maros sefcovic, european union (eu), united kingdom (uk)
US Delegation Heads to Europe to Defuse Tensions Over NI Protocol, 'Arrange' UK-EU Trade Deal
08:21 GMT 20.05.2022 (Updated: 15:19 GMT 28.05.2023) As the UK government announced earlier that it was poised to table legislation which could revoke parts of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, the Guardian reported that at least half a dozen representatives from the US Congress would head to Europe for a series of meetings in Brussels, Dublin, London and Belfast.
A nine-strong US delegation led by a close ally of US President Joe Biden is set to visit Brussels, London, Dublin, Kerry and Belfast in what is seen as Washington’s intervention into the spiralling
tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol, reported The Guardian.
The group, comprising both Democrat and Republican delegates from the House of Representatives and Senate, is led by chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal.
The delegation was reportedly scheduled to kick off its six-day trip with a series of meetings in Brussels on Friday, with the European Commission’s vice-president and Brexit commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
On Saturday, the group will head to London for meetings with UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow international trade secretary.
According to the report, Richard Neal has requested a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is “hopeful” such talks can be arranged.
The US delegation’s mission is purportedly to act on Washington’s position as co-guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday agreement and attempt to defuse tensions over the
most contentious part of the original Withdrawal Agreement signed by the UK and EU in 2019. The post-Brexit deal entered into force on 1 February 2020, and consists, among others things, of a protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Richard Neal has already voiced Washington’s disapproval over the UK government’s plan to draft legislation to scrap parts of the NI protocol despite warnings it could risk a full trade war with the EU.
“My purpose is manifold but we really want to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to the Good Friday agreement and to remind everybody that on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it has worked splendidly,” Neal was cited by The Guardian as saying. He added:
“I want to remind everybody in the UK, in Northern Ireland that it should not be treated as a cavalier achievement.”
According to Neal, he had been entrusted by the Biden administration to pull the Government of Boris Johnson from the brink of breaching an international treaty less than two years old.
“They haven’t breached it yet. They’re talking about breaching it, so part of my job is to convince them not to breach it,” said Neal.
The NI protocol keeps Northern Ireland (in the UK) aligned with the EU single market for goods, thus dodging a hard border with the Republic of Ireland (which is in the European Union). The concession was conceived to safeguard a vital part of the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that put an end to decades of violence in Northern Ireland. However, the protocol entails some
new checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and has been denounced by unionist politicians for driving a wedge between their community and the rest of the UK.
The Democrat congressman confirmed that Biden had a “high level of interest” in appointing a special envoy to Northern Ireland. This is seen as echoing the move by then-president Bill Clinton to send Senator George Mitchell to Belfast in 1995 to help orchestrate peace in Northern Ireland. He signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 on the part of the US.
The visit of the US delegation has been hailed by Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Kyle, as a welcome
interjection amid threats by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) not to return to power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Assembly until the new legislation on the protocol was enacted.
“The UK government is unable to provide the stability or platform for which political differences can be settled, so therefore it falls to another country. It is humiliating for our Government and our country. We need a third-party country to come in and seek a resolution and to be an honest broker,” Kyle was cited as saying.
After London, the delegation will head to Dublin, capital of Ireland, to meet the Irish leaders and subsequently the Northern Ireland capital - Belfast - to meet Sinn Fein leaders and the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
Also on the itinerary is a meeting with an agriculture delegation in Ventry, County Kerry, the birthplace of Neal’s maternal family.
The powerful US intervention comes after UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
set out plans on 17 May for legislation that could override key parts of the 2019 Brexit deal relating to the NI protocol, including waiving all checks on goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland where they are not destined for the Republic of Ireland. The Bill could be tabled “in the coming weeks”, said Truss, adding it was in response to the “very grave and serious situation” in Northern Ireland.
This immediately drew a
warning of retaliation from the EU ambassador to the UK.
“We can’t renegotiate the protocol: the ink on the signatures is hardly dry,” said João Vale de Almeida.
Brussels has repeatedly sent out warning signals that it is ready to take retaliatory action if London pushes ahead with plans to revise legislation unilaterally that will override the Northern Ireland protocol.
The European Commission
has pledged to resort to “all measures at its disposal” if the UK decided to move ahead with a Bill “disapplying constitutive elements of the protocol”.
