London’s attempt to amend its ‘Brexit’ in Northern Ireland leads to an incomprehensible policy
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has built an apparent dead end in his relations with the European Union and the restoration of Northern Ireland’s autonomy, after he published a bill this week that would repeal much of the European Union’s withdrawal agreement. British lawyers specializing in international law and the European Commission say it’s illegal.
European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said in an interview with British television Sky on Thursday that he “cannot resist the temptation to think that (the introduction of the bill) is politically motivated, but it is not our role. to comment on the internal politics of the United States. Kingdom, and therefore our doors will always be open for negotiations.”
It is a sentiment shared in Parliament and in the British media. The interpretation that London is challenging the EU to a trade war has been exaggerated. It may be the outcome, but in the context of the war in Ukraine and a troubled economy, London is not aiming for the total bankruptcy of ‘Brexit’. Johnson this week asked his ministers to soften their tone towards the EU.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph newspaper on Friday, Šefčovič pointed out that if the bill becomes law, “no option is ruled out”. He warned that Northern Irish companies would lose access to the common market. Anonymous sources in the Commission have suggested to British media that Brussels could impose tariffs on specific products that British companies export to the EU.
The Commission’s first step was to reactivate legal proceedings against London’s unilateral imposition, in 2021, of grace periods for the application of certain border controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The region is part of the common market and the UK market, thanks to the rules of a protocol annexed to the Withdrawal Agreement.
The illegality of the bill has been argued this week by leading British lawyers. They argue that the invocation by the Johnson administration of the “doctrine of necessity”, which allows a state under international law to defer or withdraw the application of an international treaty, is not possible when the protocol in Article 16 to react to critical situations.
International courts have determined that states cannot invoke this doctrine if they have contributed to the stated need. London is said to have fueled the crisis by pursuing a hard ‘Brexit’. He negotiated and signed the protocol. And the lawyers find no justification for the government to include the annulment of the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union as regulator of its common market.
The interpretation of Johnson’s political motivation has led to varying speculation. Some believe that, following the uprising of 148 deputies from his parliamentary group in a vote of confidence, the Conservative leader wants to secure the support of the most Eurosceptic deputies. A fight with the EU would bolster the ‘Brexiter’ vote if it plans early elections.
Senior officials from Sinn Féin, the Republican party historically associated with the IRA, believe Johnson is challenging the EU to gain advantages in its negotiations with Brussels; on access to the city’s common market for financial services or the UK’s participation in the Horizon programme, which coordinates and finances scientific research.
It would be one possible interpretation if EU countries pressured the Commission to reduce frictions with the United Kingdom, the world’s fifth largest economy. Without that pressure, the existence of which the chanceries deny, adding an illegal deviation from the Protocol seems like an absurd negotiation strategy: Brussels threatens to shoot itself if they don’t give it what it wants.
Politics and legality are becoming even more complicated in London’s management of the situation in Northern Ireland. The May elections gave Sinn Féin the largest number of seats, but the DUP’s boycott of the election of the Autonomous Assembly president has prevented the recovery of the institutions. April 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement that created them.
The DUP is a peculiar lot. Reverend William McCrae read the opening prayer for his lecture in November 2018. Johnson, a conservative leadership hopeful, guest-starred. McCrae, a gospel singer, proposed aerial bombardment of IRA enclaves in 1986. He was followed by the moderator of a debate on education. Three hundred delegates responded to his greeting with the choral sweetness of elementary school students: “Good morning.”
Its members can be puritanical, fanatic and also pragmatic, like the founder, Ian Paisley. They are now demanding that Northern Ireland remain in the single market, while Johnson promises a “bonfire” of rules inherited from the EU but no border controls between Britain and the region. The alternative is a border between the two Irelands or between Ireland and the rest of the EU.
People familiar with Northern Ireland politics and Johnson are pessimistic. They say there is no plan and Downing Street is a mess. There is nothing in the short term. The implementation of the EU sanctions will take months. Passage of the bill, maybe a year. But Johnson demands that the DUP already form the shared Executive with Sinn Féin or else he will freeze the account processing.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said in a meeting with members of his party on Friday that the bill “could remove the long shadow of the protocol over Northern Ireland and restore our place in the Union”. He added that they will not be part of the autonomous executive branch until the law is passed and ministers announce the withdrawal of the protocol allowing this illegal standard.
Source: La Verdad
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