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The foreign minister has said that the parliamentary blockade of controversial British legislation that would violate the Northern Ireland Protocol has not impressed the European Union.
Simon Coveney said the compromise reached between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the rebel MPs last week, which would mean that the House of Commons would have the final say if the powers of the Market Bill were ever invoked. Inside, it didn’t reassure anyone outside the UK. “
He described the episode as “damaging” to the reputations of both Johnson and Britain.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Coveney said: “The British government has acted to try to assuage concerns within the Conservative Party because there were serious concerns with this approach.
“Thus, accepting an amendment that effectively blocks parliamentary action on elements of legislation that undermine an international treaty has helped to calm divisions within the Conservative Party.
“I don’t think it impressed the European Union. A government with an 80-seat majority, having a parliamentary lockdown, I’m not sure that’s any consolation to anyone outside the UK.”
He added: “But of course this bill was always about British politics and managing the problem within Westminster and appeasing the elements of the Conservative Party.”
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“I think it is a problem of internal parliamentary management of the British government, but unfortunately it does not keep us from the threat of the United Kingdom to violate international law, to break a treaty that they themselves designed and signed less than 12 months ago, and that. it is very unfortunate, because that makes it even more difficult to solve a series of quite complex problems for the two negotiating teams. “
The minister said he still believes that it is possible for both sides to reach an agreement in future relations negotiations, during the next six weeks.
“This has been very damaging to the reputation of Great Britain and the reputation of the Prime Minister outside the UK. That is the reality. The sooner we can focus on solving problems that will allow us to establish a future relationship and therefore make the elements of this irrelevant legislation, the better, “he said.
Mr Coveney spoke on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels that focused on the demonstrations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In a statement, Coveney said: “Ireland is shocked by human rights violations in Belarus, where peaceful protesters continue to suffer indiscriminate arrests, harassment, intimidation and ill-treatment.”
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