Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator calls on the EU to ‘get rid of the bad will that remains’

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has called on Brussels to “get rid of any remaining ill will” towards the UK for leaving the bloc, as the deals governing trade with Northern Ireland remain contentious. .

The European Commission has said it will take legal action against Whitehall after the UK announced that it was extending a series of “grace periods” designed to facilitate trade between Northern Ireland, which remains in the EU’s single market for goods. , and Great Britain as long as permanent agreements are established. they are determined.

Cabinet Office Minister David Frost said Wednesday that London’s move should allow time for constructive discussions with his counterparts in Brussels.

But the intervention sparked a furious response in Brussels, with the EU accusing the UK of backtracking on its treaty obligations in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement aimed at ensuring there is no return from a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Frost said the measure was legal and designed to protect the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland.

“With Boris Johnson as prime minister, our agenda is that of a country that looks outward, confident that we can work with others toward common goals,” he said.

“That is our hope for our ties with our European friends and allies as well. I hope they get rid of any remaining ill will towards us by leaving and instead build a friendly relationship between equal sovereigns. “

The Northern Ireland protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement was designed by the EU and the UK to prevent a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland.

It means keeping Northern Ireland aligned with various EU rules, requiring controls on goods arriving in the region from Great Britain.

Meanwhile, Britain’s top negotiator in Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007 said Frost had chosen to “stick a stick in the eye” of the bloc by taking unilateral action on grace periods.

Jonathan Powell, who was also Tony Blair’s chief of staff, said the move was a repeat of Frost’s “disastrous tactical maneuver during negotiations last year to violate international law by unilaterally repealing the protocol in the bill. internal market, which then had to be humiliating. ” retired”.

Writing in The Sunday Times, he said: “The only safe option is to find a way to make the protocol work better, which means trying to rebuild trust with the Irish and with the commission rather than attacking them.”

DUP leader Arlene Foster, for her part, has criticized Brussels for taking a “very belligerent approach” to the difficulties caused by the post-Brexit protocol.

Foster also said that “something had to give in” and the UK had to take action and extend a grace period.

In the United States, the White House has once again emphasized new President Joe Biden’s support for the Good Friday Agreement, which the protocol is intended to protect.

Ahead of last year’s election, Biden, who prides himself on his Irish roots, warned that the deal must not become a victim of Brexit.