UK violating the Northern Ireland Protocol would be a ‘really big mistake’, says Coveney

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has warned the UK that it will make “a big mistake” if it violates the Northern Ireland Protocol on Brexit.

The British government is poised to reintroduce elements of its controversial domestic market bill next week, which could overturn the protocol, in a move that would violate international law.

He’s also set to introduce his finance bill, the elements of which could also violate parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, agreed to last year.

It comes amid an intense period of negotiations between the EU and the UK to reach a post-Brexit trade deal.

Coveney said today that such a move by the UK would be taken as a “clear signal” by the EU that the UK does not want a deal.

He said: “I think that if they do, it will be a clear signal to the EU that this process is not going to end well.

It will be a sign that they do not really want a deal. I really hope that doesn’t happen.

“We have certainly given signals in the most respectful way, but in the most direct way possible, that that would be a big mistake at this stage of the negotiations.

“I think Michel Barnier’s report on this morning’s meeting would also reflect that.”

Earlier today, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, informed the European ambassadors that a violation of the Northern Ireland Protocol would trigger a “crisis” and cause a breakdown of trust.

Coveney told the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal Committee from the European Union of Oireachtas today that an agreement on the implementation of the protocol is near.

He expressed hope that an agreement will be reached soon, which could negate the need for the UK to introduce its own national legislation that could nullify the protocol.

He said: “There are many negotiations that will happen between now and then. I hope that there is no need for national legislation that threatens the implementation of the protocol, due to a successful outcome of the negotiation. Time will tell.”

Coveney was highly critical of the British government’s actions around the domestic market bill, which he said had damaged his reputation internationally.

He said: “We have wasted so much time talking about the Internal Market Law. The motivation of the British government in terms of why they are doing it.

Is it a negotiation strategy? Is it a way to potentially sink these negotiations if they wanted to?

Coveney added: “It is undoubtedly damaging Britain’s reputation internationally. Not only in the European Union, but also on the other side of the Atlantic.

“They are just trying to understand, what is the British government doing here?

“In a way, it is a very provocative approach that has undermined confidence and sucked in a lot of oxygen that could have been used to solve these problems through negotiation.

We could have a second piece of legislation duplicated on the issue through the Finance Bill next week, in the context of another element of the protocol.

“I think the EU will only come to a conclusion if that course of action is taken, which will be extremely regrettable.”