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YORK, England: The UK government appears to be doubling down on threats to leave the European Union without a deal unless the EU gives in on matters of state aid and fisheries. These two concerns are as important in Brussels as they appear to be in London.
In the latest attempt to escalate the drama as the deadline for a deal approaches, the UK has said it plans to review the withdrawal agreement it has already signed with the EU on exit terms.
This will include changing the plan agreed with the EU in December 2019 on how trade will move between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. It also sets out how much money the UK owes the EU for unpaid commitments.
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It is as if the UK government has realized that the withdrawal agreement imposes obligations on the UK to monitor what happens to Northern Ireland from the UK and therefore could be a back door entry to the European Union.
It is incomprehensible how this London maneuver was able to preserve a frictionless border on the island of Ireland, which is what the withdrawal agreement was intended to do. A no-deal result also destroys what was previously agreed with Brussels.
So what exactly is the UK government playing at? It is not surprising that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has asked London for an explanation.
WITHOUT PALPABLE SENSE
Given that Michael Gove, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, insisted that “we have all the cards” and former international trade secretary Liam Fox promised “the easiest trade deal in human history,” it is worrying that the negotiations with the EU have not borne fruit. positive results.
The truth is, all these pre-Brexit promises have been palpable nonsense. Boris Johnson wrote three days after the referendum that “there will continue to be free trade and access to the single market.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a virtual press conference on the current situation with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Downing Street, London, Great Britain, on September 9, 2020 (Photo: Stefan Rousseau / Pool via REUTERS).
As prime minister, he assured the Democratic Unionist Party that there would be no barriers, no checks, and no formalities for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Weeks later, it signed a withdrawal agreement with the EU that requires the implementation of precisely those barriers.
Johnson’s lamentable treatment of the DUP obviously worries him because he is now seeking amendments to the withdrawal agreement. You should know that this is an international treaty that one of the parties cannot “fix” unilaterally, much less amend.
Northern Ireland’s secretary, Brandon Lewis, admitted in parliament that it would be a violation of international law and did not appear to care about the prospect.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, a master of understatement, questioned how the rest of the world could trust the UK if it rewrote the internationally agreed withdrawal agreement. This would be fun if it weren’t tragic.
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Since the withdrawal agreement cannot be unilaterally modified, the government must believe that it is simply using a heavy-handed bargaining tactic against the EU.
If so, it will fail. The union will not be intimidated into giving the UK what it demands.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who recently discovered that Dover was a major freight port, has insisted that without an agreement the UK would not fulfill the responsibilities included in the withdrawal agreement.
In fact, it is far from clear that Britain can avoid paying £ 39 billion (US $ 50 billion) to the European Union should it fail to reach a deal. The EU would certainly take the UK to the International Court of Justice to guarantee payment of the “divorce bill”.
FILE PHOTO: Cargo trucks arrive at the port terminal of Dover, UK, on Oct. 11, 2019. REUTERS / Simon Dawson / File photo
Jonathan Jones, the permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department, resigned because of the government’s arrogant disregard for international treaty commitments in this debacle.
He is the sixth senior official to resign from his post in 2020 in protest at the government’s approach to Brexit and its treatment of public officials doing difficult work.
Until recently, the prime minister routinely referred to the EU as “friends and partners”, a clear example of his famous sense of humor, given that he has made a career out of abusing and misrepresenting the EU.
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WHERE IS IT ALL GOING?
This litany of failures raises several questions. Among the most important are whether it is a sensible negotiating strategy to threaten, or even contemplate, a no-deal Brexit when this would be a disaster for the UK, and Northern Ireland in particular.
But the government also needs to explain how its ambitions for “global Britain” can be compared to its apparent disregard for international law.
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And if you want a deal, why should you expect the European Union to abandon its 28-year commitment to a level playing field and the integrity of the Single European Market with regard to labor laws, environmental protection and product standards? just to meet? The lawsuits of a former member who has damaged the Union by leaving?
An Australian-style deal is the government’s euphemism for no-deal, also known as moving to WTO terms.
Tariffs and customs barriers will be mandatory under WTO law. Queues of heavy vehicles in ports and shortages of food and medicine will be the clearest visible signs of no agreement once the “transition period” is over.
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Cooperation between the jurisdictions of Ireland and Northern Ireland has historically been a thorny issue AFP / PAUL FAITH
And of course there is the now uncertain future of the Good Friday Agreement, which has preserved a fragile peace in Northern Ireland since 1998. Brexit enthusiasts, including the government, will need to explain to the people of Northern Ireland why it has been the peace agreement fulfilled. to be sacrificed on the altar of Brexit.
These are certainly difficult times. The wheels come out of the chaos of Brexit.
The underlying cause of all this is a predominantly English refusal to accept that the UK is a normal, medium-sized country in a complex, multipolar world, with no right to rule or shape the destinies of others.
The UK should be playing a key role in multilateral institutions facing existential challenges for humanity, but is instead launching towards rupture, discord, bitterness and isolation.
Simon Sweeney is Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy and Business at York University. This comment first appeared on The Conversation.
