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Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure over plans to cancel Britain’s Brexit deal with the EU after two of his predecessors decided to join forces to block his attempts to exit the EU without a clear deal.
Johnson, meanwhile, must quell a revolt in his own party after disgruntled conservatives decided to oppose their leaders precisely because of their Brexit intentions.
It is no secret that the negotiations between the EU and the UK are slower and more difficult than expected. Both the global coronavirus pandemic and the general lack of commitment from Britain have helped. Johnson’s specific push to bypass the Brussels deal came last week with the presentation of the so-called “Internal Market Bill,” with which London wants to replace the provisions of the state aid agreement and certain customs agreements for Northern Ireland.
The legislative changes would entitle other ministers to “waive” parts of the rules agreed in October 2019 for goods passing through and leaving Northern Ireland. In practice, this means circumventing the painful agreement reached with the EU at the end of last year, according to which special rules apply to the region in the name of preserving ethnic peace.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that if a final agreement is not reached by October 15, both Lamashna parties will have to come to terms with the Brexit situation without a final agreement.
Otherwise, Britain will have to start trading with the EU according to WTO rules, as Australia does. However, according to Johnson, this would be a good result for the UK.
To defend his actions, the British prime minister resorted to offensive tactics. He “warned” his compatriots that Brussels was threatening to impose a food “blockade” between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, threatening the integrity of the United Kingdom.
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Johnson wrote that the EU position justified the introduction of the “Internal Market Act”, which edits the agreement already reached with the EU on Northern Ireland.
According to Johnson, the EU not only intends to impose tariffs on goods moving from the UK to Northern Ireland, but also to effectively stop the transport of food from the UK to Northern Ireland.
“I must say that we never seriously believed that the EU would be willing to use a treaty reached in good faith, to block part of the UK, to cut it off, or that they would actually threaten to destroy the UK’s economic and territorial integrity. british prime minister
The food dispute centers on the EU’s refusal to grant Britain “third country” status, which recognizes that countries meet the basic requirements to export their food to Europe.
Under the UK’s exit treaty, Northern Ireland will enjoy special status to ensure no return to the EU-member border with Ireland, in line with the 1998 peace treaty, which ended three decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.
The European Union is concerned that Britain could undermine its own post-Brexit food standards, as well as state aid rules for businesses, to ship goods to its single market via Northern Ireland.
Now, however, Boris Johnson’s new bill is editing this part of the deal, sparking angry reactions both in Europe and in its own ranks.
Two of the leaders of this pressure on the prime minister are former British prime ministers Tony Blair (Labor) and John Major (Conservative).
The two called on lawmakers to reject Johnson’s proposed new legislation as it threatens the peace process in Ireland, trade talks and the integrity of Britain.
“We both opposed Brexit. We both accept that this is happening right now. But this way of negotiating, rejecting reason and relying on arrogant and bombastic ideology and poses rather than serious diplomacy, is irresponsible, wrong in principle and dangerous. “. in practice, “they wrote in an official position published in the Sunday Times.
“This raises issues that go far beyond the effect on Ireland, the peace process or trade negotiations, important as they are. This calls into question the very integrity of our country,” the two prime ministers said.
They were later joined by another former prime minister, David Cameron. He expressed concern about Johnson’s proposal, as well as the potential negative consequences for Britain’s international reputation.
And while all three symbolically represent the union of the former leaders of the country’s two largest parties, a far more serious threat to Boris Johnson’s actions is an internal mutiny among conservatives in parliament.
This came after former minister Bob Neal amended the prime minister’s bill, which could give parliament the right to veto the repeal of the British Brexit deal with Brussels. Neil also has the backing of former immigration secretary Damian Green and former minister and general counsel Oliver Heald, as well as Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Selected Committee.
Brussels, meanwhile, has less and less hope that a final Brexit deal will eventually be reached.
After another difficult round of trade talks this week in London, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said there were “many uncertainties” about Britain’s food export regime after January 1.
“More clarity is needed for the EU to assess the UK’s inclusion in the list of third countries,” it said in a statement.
EU leaders have warned that these rules, officially known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, are legally binding and violating them would be a violation of international law.
However, this in no way seems to stop Boris Johnson and his ministers.
