The British government, through the voice of Foreign Minister Liz Truss this Tuesday, May 17 in the House of Commons, announced its intention to legislate against the “ protocol for northern ireland “. An intention already widely criticized by the European Union.
With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
Ireland deeply regrets the decision of the British government, says Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs. According to him, these are unilateral actions that damage trust “, from ” harmful unilateral actions according to Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
Unacceptable
The opinion of the European Union is even more clear-cut than that of the Republic of Ireland, since it considers the proposals mentioned by the British Minister for Foreign Affairs to be unacceptable. The protocol for Northern Ireland was negotiated step by step between the EU and the government of Boris Johnson, the Europeans recall, because it was the only way to avoid the blockage that a new closure of the intra-Irish border.
The British Foreign Secretary’s remarks are likely to threaten peace in Ireland, according to the Europeans, because the protocol is in fact the only solution to preserve open borders on the island, in line with the Good Friday agreements of 1998 which had put an end to thirty years of violence.
contravene an international agreement
By the voice of Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Relations with the United Kingdomthe European Union insists that renouncing the protocol for Northern Ireland is to contravene an international agreement and undermine one of the basic conditions of the trade and cooperation agreement which governs Euro- British since Brexit.
►Also read : London evokes an “impasse” in discussions with the European Union on Northern Ireland