[ad_1]
Irish government politicians and senior officials downplayed reports that the British government was preparing to quash parts of the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK in legislation to be released later this week.
The Financial Times reported Sunday night that sections of the withdrawal agreement, agreed last year between London and Brussels after years of negotiations, could be set aside through legislation the British government is preparing.
The sections in question are related to Northern Ireland and state aid provisions, FT said, including agreements for goods imported to the North from Great Britain.
The agreement stipulates that the North will be treated differently from other parts of the UK to maintain an open border in Ireland, but it has been unpopular with trade unionists and some elements of the Conservative Party.
The revelations sent shockwaves across Europe, although the EU officially said it expected the UK to fulfill its obligations under the treaty signed last year.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that if the British government introduced the legislation as reported by the FT, it would be “a very serious breach of confidence”, which, he said, “would fundamentally undermine the negotiations currently underway at this time” . ”.
Mr. Coveney said that this was an international treaty, so if not implemented, it will undermine trust between the parties.
“I hope it is a false story and that it is not as serious and negative as some people are suggesting,” he told RTE Radio One.
The position of Ireland and Europe was very clear, “we are polite but firm,” he said.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that Brexit negotiations may present “a certain level of saber noise” and “poses” in the coming weeks.
Varadkar said he expects the UK to honor commitments made under the withdrawal agreement reached with the European Union.
“It is an international agreement, it is an international treaty and we hope that any honorable country like the United Kingdom will fulfill its international commitments and no national law passed in any parliament can invalidate an international treaty.”
The Minister for Business spoke at the launch of the state’s € 2 billion credit guarantee scheme, and after reports emerged that Downing Street planned to use national legislation to undermine aspects of the Northern Ireland protocol contained in the agreement withdrawal.
While saying that he could not speak on behalf of the British government, or speculate on their motivations, Varadkar said: “What I can say is that we are in the final weeks of negotiations between the EU on one side and the UK on the other. .. so at this point in the negotiations you often see a certain level of saber rattling and a certain level of stance, if you like. “
He said the Irish government’s response to the events would be “measured”.
“In the meantime, we will continue negotiations to try to secure a free trade agreement with the UK that will not imply tariffs or quotas on trade between the two countries,” he said.
Anger
There was surprise and anger on both sides of the Irish border and in Brussels at the reported British plan to undermine the withdrawal pact.
“I am confident that the British government will implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and a prerequisite for any future partnership,” said Ursula von der Leyen, director of the European Commission.
“The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and the integrity of the single market,” he added on Twitter.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was “completely unacceptable” to the British government that the reports were confident that it is willing to walk away from commitments to Irish protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that the agreement and the protocol are binding and it is not for the British government to deviate from the commitments that were made in an international agreement,” he said.
“I want to sound a very strong note of concern that at this stage, very late in terms of negotiations, Ireland will be used as a pawn by the British government. That is completely unacceptable. “
She said that Ireland could not be collateral damage for a Tory Brexit.
McDonald said his office had been in contact with the offices of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier about the latest developments. She said she had not yet been informed, but said she hoped not only that the government would inform her, but also that they would ask her to put her shoulder behind the wheel.
He said he wanted to be part of protecting the interests of the island of Ireland and hoped that the Government would accept his offer in “good faith that I intend.”
Leaders of Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein and SDLP parties, the two largest Irish nationalist groups in the region, also criticized the government’s plan.
British Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government was committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, but that some legal ambiguities needed to be fixed about the Northern Ireland protocol. “We are not moving the goal posts,” he told Sky News.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier acknowledged the anxiety but declined to comment on the FT report. “I remain concerned … the negotiations are difficult, because the British want the best of both worlds,” he told France Inter radio.
“We were expecting a very busy September,” said a senior Irish source. “But let’s see what the detail is.”
However, it is understood that officials will make inquiries with their counterparts in London and seek assurances that the UK will abide by the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol, which promises to maintain and open the border on the island.
“This is a country that wants to make trade agreements with the rest of the world,” said the source. She asked how the UK could approach such negotiations “if it walks away from the last deal it made.”
Another source said that a British move to increase tension in the negotiations was not unexpected. “I see that we are also going to overturn [Michel] Barnier again, ”he said, referring to the latest reports in the British press about the impending marginalization of the EU’s top negotiator. Such reports have appeared several times during the negotiations, but so far they have not proven to be true.
Sources in Dublin also pointed to the reaction of UK trade experts, many of whom pointed to the difficulty of negotiating future trade deals if the UK breaches the withdrawal agreement.
But while Dublin downplayed the reports, it is expected that there will be quiet approaches with British government sources to assess the mood in Downing Street as the Brexit process moves into a hectic and tense autumn.
Irish sources acknowledge that the arrival of the Johnson administration has made the British government’s intentions more difficult to read.
Concerns also remain that if a trade deal is not reached, the British government would move away from provisions in the withdrawal agreement that maintain an open border in Ireland, generating pressure from the EU on Ireland to secure the border. Many in Dublin consider it a nightmare setting.
If no deal is reached, Britain would have a trade relationship with the bloc like Australia’s, which would be “a good result,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to say Monday.
[ad_2]