The UK government will publish draft legislation on Monday which will enable ministers to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The government wants to resume frictionless trade for goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, after the Protocol introduced checks on some items. The Irish Sea trade border that the Protocol has effectively created has angered unionists, who say that it undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
The draft bill will enable business in Northern Ireland to choose between abiding by EU or UK standards, and UK VAT and state aid rules would apply to Northern Ireland under the changes.
The BBC reports that the legislation is expected to remove checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain that are intended to remain within Northern Ireland’s borders.
Under the Protocol, checks are systematically imposed on certain goods to alleviate any risk of them continuing on into the Republic of Ireland, which remains part of the EU single market and customs union.
The EU maintains its view that unilateral action would contravene international law, but the Westminster believes it is acting lawfully on the basis that the Protocol is directly leading to social unrest in Northern Ireland.
The Democratic Unionist Party [DUP], which emerged as the second-largest party in the recent Assembly elections behind Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin, has refused to consent to the nomination of ministers or a speaker at Stormont as an act of protest against the Protocol.
Due to power-sharing arrangements in Belfast, this development means that the devolved government in Northern Ireland cannot form.
Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, has said that it would be lawful for the UK to go down the path of unilateral action without EU consent.
Lewis added that he expected the DUP to consent to the formation of a new executive at Stormont once the UK’s bill enabling unilateral action was published.
UK foreign secretary Liz Truss [pictured] said that the government’s legislation would “fix the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol and restore political stability” in Northern Ireland, calling on the EU to be “willing to change”.
Truss held talks with Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission on Monday, to discuss the bill, which Sefcovic insisted would be “damaging to mutual trust and a formula for uncertainty”.
Mary-Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin, has supported the EU’s view that unilateral action would break international law and bring damage to the economies of Northern Ireland and the neighbouring Republic.
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons
