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Relations between the EU and the UK fell to their worst level since the Brexit vote in 2016 on Wednesday, when the British government published planned legislation that will violate the withdrawal treaty signed by the two sides last year, casting doubt the future of business talks.
There were emergency contacts between EU leaders amid the development, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin voiced the Irish government’s concerns in a “direct” phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday night.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the British government “has decided to cause chaos.”
The legislation, the UK Internal Market Act, gives British ministers the power to decide unilaterally how parts of the Northern Ireland protocol should be implemented in the withdrawal agreement and does not apply parts of the treaty.
Martin discussed the British measure with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, twice on Wednesday. Several EU leaders, including Martin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, had discussed the worsening situation in a call earlier this week.
It is understood that Mr. Martin expressed his deep concern to Mr. Johnson about the effect of creating new uncertainty about border problems in relation to Northern Ireland. Johnson indicated that the British side will engage with the joint EU-UK committee on the implementation of the withdrawal agreement.
The British move has caused shocks in Europe. Dr. von der Leyen responded by reminding Britain of the concept of “pacta sunt servanda”, or “agreements must be upheld”, a fundamental principle of international relations and law.
Maros Sefcovic, a vice-president of the European Commission who co-chairs the joint EU-UK committee on the implementation of the withdrawal agreement, said he had expressed the EU’s “strong concerns” to his British counterpart, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, on a phone. call, and sought a meeting with Mr. Gove.
Negotiators from the EU and the UK have just a few weeks to agree on a complex additional agreement that will govern their future relationship, covering everything from fishing rights to trade in goods and services.
Johnson defense
At Westminster, Johnson defended his decision to introduce a bill that would violate international law, telling MPs that it is necessary to protect Britain against “extreme or irrational interpretations” of the Northern Ireland protocol.
Johnson also told MPs during the prime minister’s questions that the bill was designed to protect peace in Northern Ireland.
Later, John Major became the second former Conservative prime minister to warn the government of the consequences of his move, after Theresa May did so before the bill was published.
“For generations, Britain’s word, solemnly given, has been accepted by friend and foe. . . If we lose our reputation for honoring the promises we make, we will have lost something beyond price that we may never get back, ”he said.
And in an unprecedented intervention, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, said that the British government’s action could “undermine confidence in the system of administration of justice”.
Judge Morgan told the BBC that the British government’s stance made him “very uncomfortable.”
“It allows others to consider that they can choose which laws apply to them,” he said.
In the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, also spoke on Wednesday night.
If the UK violates that international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday deal [Belfast Agreement], there will be absolutely no chance for Congress to pass a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, ”he warned. “The Good Friday Agreement is appreciated by the American people and will be proudly defended in the United States Congress.”
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