Britain to defy EU with 'relatively trivial' N.Ireland law
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[June 13, 2022]
By Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will set out
plans on Monday to override some of the post-Brexit trade rules for
Northern Ireland, scrapping checks and challenging the role played by
Brussels in a fresh clash with the European Union.
As Ireland warned of a "new low" from London and Brussels talked of
damage to trust, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to plough
ahead, saying the "relatively trivial" steps were needed to improve
trade and simplify bureaucracy.
Tensions have been simmering for months after Britain accused the bloc
of taking a heavy handed approach to the movement of goods between
Britain and Northern Ireland - checks that were needed to keep an open
border with EU-member Ireland.
Always the toughest part of the Brexit deal to crack, the situation in
the region has sent alarm bells ringing in European capitals and
Washington, and among business leaders.
It has also heightened political tensions, with pro-British communities
saying their place in the United Kingdom is being eroded.
A power-sharing administration has broken down and the Democratic
Unionist Party (DUP) said it would only return to parliament if it is
sure the bill will become law.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/13/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
The new legislation comes as the UK faces its toughest economic
conditions in decades, with inflation forecast to hit 10% and growth
stalling. Johnson said any talk of a retaliatory trade war by Brussels
would be a "gross, gross overreaction".
"All we are trying to do is have some bureaucratic simplifications
between Great Britain and Northern Ireland," he told LBC Radio.
NEW CLASH
Britain has been threatening for months to rip up the protocol, an
agreement that kept the region under EU rules and forced an effective
customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to
prevent a back door from opening up into the EU's vast single market.
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![](../images/061322PIX/news_t43.jpg)
Tractors drive past an exit sign and a road sign for Belfast on the
border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, in Jonesborough,
Northern Ireland, May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Under the legislation, London is expected to
introduce a "green channel" for goods moving from Britain just to
Northern Ireland, change the tax rules and end the role of the
European Court of Justice as sole arbiter.
The bill, which will be presented to parliament by Foreign Secretary
Liz Truss, could take around a year to pass. It comes as Johnson
seeks to recover from a large rebellion against his leadership by
winning back the support of lawmakers, including those who want a
tough stance against Brussels.
The legislation, like Brexit itself, has split legal and political
opinion, with supporters of the UK's divorce saying it does not go
far enough and critics saying it undermines London's standing in the
world by challenging an international agreement.
Truss told European Commission vice-president, Maros Sefcovic, that
London was still open to a "negotiated solution". He said any
unilateral action damaged trust.
Brussels believes any unilateral change may breach international
law. It could launch legal action or eventually review the terms of
the free trade deal it agreed with Britain.
EU officials have said that Britain will not be allowed to join its
95 billion euro Horizon Europe research programme until outstanding
disputes, notably Northern Ireland, are resolved.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also said
there will be no U.S.-UK trade deal if London scraps the protocol.
(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Andrew MacAskill and Kylie
MacLellan; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter and Ed Osmond)
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