Hibernation of bill repealing Northern Ireland Protocol rules suggests progress towards an agreed end to Brexit
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will not be advocating for consideration in the coming weeks of a bill that would allow London to abolish clauses in the Brexit deal agreed with the European Union . According to the newspaper ‘The Sunday Times’, they believe that it is possible to reach an agreement with Brussels on the Irish Protocol.
After his last phone call with Cleverly, Commission Vice-President and head of negotiations on the aftermath of Brexit, Maros Sefcovic, stated that the technical committees that have met these weeks are ready to “redouble their efforts”. “I want to make the most of this clear opportunity,” emphasized the Slovak politician.
The Protocol is the biggest obstacle to normalizing relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. British researchers cannot participate in the Horizon programme. Promoting exchanges for UK and EU youth is another stalled project, due to the Commission’s mistrust of negotiations with London as it deals with a law that mocks previous agreements.
The UK’s prominent role in the war in Ukraine has fostered frequent dialogue between leaders, and Rishi Sunak’s replacement of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss has improved the atmosphere, say those in power in Brussels, Dublin and London. The thaw had begun during Truss’s brief tenure and has been accelerated by Sunak’s diplomacy.
Resolving the Irish mess, the only European territory part of which belongs to the European Union and the other part to another country, the United Kingdom, would always be complicated. Conditions in the region – segregated between Catholics and Protestants, politically divided between pro-British and pro-Irish, the scene of several cycles of violent conflict in the island’s history – make it even more complex.
The chance to resolve the bitterness of Brexit dates back to early 2023, as April 10 marks a quarter of a century since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, or Good Friday. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, very proud of his Irish roots, wants to personally attend the celebration of the anniversary of a peace to which his predecessor, Bill Clinton, contributed.
That commitment in 1998 between all major parties, except the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), to share self-government institutions in Northern Ireland and promote north-south relations has enabled the drastic reduction in violence. But the region’s government has gone bankrupt before and has now also been suspended.
The leader of the DUP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, left the building where the agreement was being negotiated that April evening when he confirmed that its leader, future Nobel laureate David Trimble, would sign the agreement. He then left the party, the Ulster Unionist (UUP), and joined the DUP. He has collapsed the institutions for not accepting the protocol, which he says has led to “the alienation of the union members in relation to the system”.
It’s true. In a recent poll, 80% of trade unionists do not want the DUP to give in to its rejection of the Protocol. In a recent meeting with foreign correspondents, Donaldson appealed to the European Commission to accept the principle of consensus to break this dangerous deadlock soon. It is the founding principle of the EU and also the principle that made the 1998 peace agreement possible, he recalled.
Ten days ago, UK Customs said its new database, shared live with the EU, on goods traffic between Britain and Northern Ireland shows that more than 85% remain in the region. Control of illegal cargo destined for the Common Market in Southern Ireland would be relatively easy; the procedures required by the EU can be simplified.
But there are other aspects – the uneven application of VAT, subsidies, the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union – that have been persistent until now. Also the fact that the people of Northern Ireland, mostly against Brexit, have to accept the EU rules that affect their economy without having a say in how they are made.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
