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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticizes British plans to change the Northern Ireland protocol in a joint article with her Irish counterpart.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned London’s plan to ditch the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed as part of the post-Brexit trade deal.
In a joint article with her Irish counterpart, Simon Coveney, published in the British newspaper “The Observer”, Baerbock says that “there is no legal or political justification for unilaterally breaking an international agreement concluded only two years ago “.
The UK government has signaled it wants to scrap parts of the deal that require controls on goods passing through Northern Ireland in order to maintain a soft border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member.
Belfast: Protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol
Baerbock and Coveney argue that the current protocol has been good for Northern Ireland, which has experienced a faster recovery from the pandemic than other parts of the UK.
“Unfortunately, the British government chose not to commit in good faith to these proposals. Instead of the path of partnership and dialogue, it has chosen unilateralism”, the two ministers write.
Why will the UK change the Northern Ireland protocol?
The London government says it wants to implement a two-lane system for goods going from the UK territory to Northern Ireland and for those going across the border to the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland’s border with the EU was one of the sticking points in the Brexit negotiations due to the EU’s insistence on avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Port of Larne in Northern Ireland
But some members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party oppose the Irish Sea customs border, as does Northern Ireland’s main unionist party, the DUP.
The DUP refused to form a government with Sinn Fein – the pro-republican party that won the most votes in this year’s assembly elections – as stipulated in the Good Friday agreement, until the Northern Ireland protocol is scrapped.
The EU took legal action against Britain in June, saying the unilateral change to the agreement is a violation of international law./DW
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