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The dispute between the UK and the EU over customs formalities in Northern Ireland is escalating. The British government announced on Wednesday that it will extend relief for deliveries to Northern Ireland supermarkets until early October. This transition phase should expire at the end of March. Talks between the government and the EU Commission on a postponement did not initially produce any results last week. The responsible vice-president of the Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, accused London of violating the provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol and international law with this “unilateral action”.
The process represents “a clear departure from the constructive approach that has prevailed so far,” the Slovak complained, and London’s failure to inform the EU beforehand was “also disappointing”. Šefčovič threatened legal action before calling Lord David Frost, the minister responsible for EU relations, on Wednesday night.
Frost later announced that his government was not breaking a contract, but was only planning “temporary technical measures” to give companies more time to prepare for customs formalities. The extensions were limited to what was absolutely necessary and would allow London and Brussels to calmly discuss solutions in a constructive way, without “the daily life of the people of Northern Ireland being disrupted in the coming weeks”. A spokesperson for the commission said only that Šefčovič had nothing to add to what he said before the phone call.
The dispute is sparked by the provisions of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, part of the 2019 Withdrawal Agreement. Its aim is to prevent customs officials from having to monitor trucks between the Republic of Ireland and British Northern Ireland. Therefore, the protocol stipulates that Northern Ireland will continue to adhere to EU product rules and customs regulations despite Brexit. However, the logical consequence is that deliveries of goods from England, Wales or Scotland to Northern Ireland must be controlled. After all, everything that lands in Northern Ireland ports can be transported to the south of Ireland and thus to the EU internal market without further controls.
Transitional periods expire at the end of the month
The new customs bureaucracy has already caused a shortage of goods in Northern Ireland stores. There are even transition periods until the end of March. Until then, freight forwarders transporting animal feed from Scotland, Wales or England to supermarkets in Northern Ireland will not have to prove that the products comply with EU sanitary standards. And packages to Northern Ireland whose value is less than 160 euros do not require a customs declaration. That will change once the transition phases are over.
But business associations and the British government warn that companies need more time to prepare, and have called for this and other transition periods to be extended until at least early 2023. But that’s too much for the EU. Furthermore, the EU representative, Šefčovič, demands that the British first fully implement some obligations of the Northern Ireland Protocol: for example, checkpoints in Northern Ireland ports are not yet fully operational.
Until last week, Michael Gove was Šefčovič’s contact person in the British government. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided that his confidant Frost would take on this role in early March. Frost had already led the negotiations on the trade deal with Brussels and is an advocate of an uncompromising line. Now it lives up to this reputation. The government can unilaterally extend the transition period because controls in ports are carried out by British customs officials. Therefore, London can instruct officials not to ask truck drivers for additional customs documents even after the end of this month. Johnson also wants to expand the transition phase for shipping parcels to Northern Ireland on his own.
Republicans are crazy, unionists delighted
It is the second time that London wants to override the rules of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Last summer, the government introduced a law that would have had this effect, but later deactivated the draft.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney called the new measure “anything but useful.” Northern Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill made a similar statement. It belongs to Sinn Féin, the republican party, which is close to Ireland is important. Arlene Foster, head of the provincial government, welcomed the measure. Forster is the leader of the unionist DUP party, which prefers close ties to Britain. SPD MEP Bernd Lange, chairman of the trade committee, called London’s announcement to the SZ a “very aggressive act” and “not a good start for David Frost.”
