Cambridge for Europe condemns legislation to unilaterally change Northern Ireland Protocol

The government of the United Kingdom’s decision to alter parts of the of the Northern Ireland Protocol – thereby breaking international law – will “risk further instability in Northern Ireland, and poison the relationship between the UK and EU”, says Paul Browne, chair of Cambridge for Europe.

A Bill to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol unilaterally will be introduced in parliament today. The European Union has made clear that such steps would represent a breach of international law and could prompt retaliatory action from the bloc.

Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, Simon Coveney, said the plan would “ratchet up” tension and breach the UK’s international commitments. He warned his British counterpart, Liz Truss, that introducing a Bill to unilaterally amend the Northern Ireland Protocol will breach international law and “deeply damage” relationships.

Simon Coveney said the new Bill “marks a particular low point in the UK’s approach to Brexit” after a morning phone call with foreign secretary Liz Truss.

The British government has defended the new Bill, saying it is “lawful” and “correct”, though it refuses to publish the legal advice that view is based on. The Bill will see the government reduce the checks on the movement of goods across the Irish Sea without the consent of the EU. This could include allowing ministers to remove all customs processes for goods moving within the United Kingdom and enable the frictionless movement of agri-food goods staying within the UK.

The high-risk strategy risks a destabilising trade war which will negatively impact the UK economy, already reeling form the cost of living crisis, the energy crisis and the fuel crisis and with further negative outcomes from inflation and food poverty inevitable.

Responding to the announcement by Liz Truss that the UK government will introduce legislation to unilaterally change the Northern Ireland Protocol, Paul Browne, chair of Cambridge for Europe, said: “The announcement today by Liz Truss of legislation to unilaterally change important parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol is deeply worrying. There is no doubt that this legislation will break international law, risk further instability in Northern Ireland, and poison the relationship between the UK and EU.

“The Johnson government signed up to the protocol, part of their Brexit treaty with the EU, with their eyes wide open, even boasting during the 2019 general election campaign that it was part of their ‘great’ and ‘oven-ready’ Brexit deal. It’s obvious now that to ‘get Brexit done’ they lied to the people of Northern Ireland, to the EU, to parliament, and to the UK electorate.

“Now the Johnson government plans to compound the lies of their past with faithlessness in the present. This legislation will deny the people of Northern Ireland, through their elected political representatives, their say on the Protocol as promised in 2019. Did Liz Truss and Boris Johnson miss the fact that 60 per cent of the MLA’s elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly last month support the Protocol, as do the overwhelming majority of Northern Ireland’s people and businesses?

“Unilaterally scrapping parts of the Northern Ireland protocol will inflame community tensions in Northern Ireland, where many non-Unionist voters already feel completely ignored by the Conservative government.

“But the consequences would not be limited to Northern Ireland, as the EU may take retaliatory actions and suspend parts of the UK-EU trade deal, further damaging a UK economy already teetering on the brink of recession. Exports from the UK to the EU are already well down on pre-Brexit levels, and the last thing UK businesses need now is more uncertainty. Even now the UK’s valuable participation in the EU’s flagship scientific programme Horizon Europe has been thrown into grave doubt by the UK government’s protocol posturing.

“The US government has made its support for the protocol crystal clear, and breaking it will scupper chances of a UK-US trade deal anytime soon. This Northern Ireland protocol stunt would be damaging at any time, but with Russia’s war on Ukraine still raging, and the need for unity among democracies urgent, it is difficult to think of a worse time.

“For two years now we’ve seen threat after threat from the UK government about the Protocol, as they repeatedly fail to deliver on commitments they made in it. The EU have already made changes to the protocol in response to consultations with businesses and communities in Northern Ireland, and have made it clear that they are willing to make further changes, while respecting the principles of the agreement signed in 2019.

“The EU knows full well that the legislation being introduced by Truss and Johnson to unilaterally change the Northern Ireland Protocol has nothing to do with the wellbeing of Northern Ireland, and everything to do with the internal power struggles of the Tory party.

“It’s high time the UK Government stopped this dangerous and divisive approach to the Northern Ireland protocol and started negotiating with the EU in good faith.”

Northern Ireland has had a good Brexit so far because of its advantageous access to EU markets, according to a British economic think tank. The post-Brexit trade protocol is helping Northern Ireland’s economy, says the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, because – unlike the rest of the UK – its businesses are able to export barrier-free to the entire 27-nation EU.