UK publishes new bill to unilaterally change Northern Ireland Protocol

LONDON

The British government on Monday published a new bill that changes the Northern Ireland Protocol “unilaterally” and removes the checks on a variety of goods transported from the rest of the UK.

The bill aims to lift the border checks on goods in Northern Ireland as they are transported from the rest of the UK, a requisite of the protocol to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she has spoken with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic “to discuss the legislation we are announcing today to fix the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol and restore political stability.”

She said the UK preferred “a negotiated solution, but the EU must be willing to change the Protocol itself.”

Truss said she also spoke with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney “about the Bill we’re announcing today to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland and uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.”

She added: “We remain open to negotiations with the EU, but we cannot wait to fix the issues facing the people of NI.”

However, both Sefcovic and Coveney said their position will not change.

A spokesman for Coveney said it “marks a particular low point in the UK’s approach to Brexit.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “it’s a bureaucratic change that needs to be made,” adding: “Frankly it’s a relatively trivial set of adjustments.”

Johnson further said that it would be a “gross, gross overreaction” and “preposterous” for the EU to respond by imposing trade restrictions.

The bill requires to be voted in both houses of the UK parliament and the royal assent before becoming law.

Sinn Fein won most seats in the May 5 assembly election in Ireland but the DUP, their partner-to-be in the new power-sharing government, has since rejected nominating a deputy first minister because of the protocol.

If a deputy is not nominated, Sinn Fein is not able to form a government under the unique and complex legislation of the region with painful past.

The Conservative Party government in London and DUP have argued that the protocol created a sea-border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and therefore it is not acceptable in its current form.