The EU’s ambassador to the United Kingdom has rejected Liz Trust’s request for the Northern Ireland Protocol to be rewritten and issued a firm warning of retaliation if the government passes a law that does not apply aspects of the agreement.
“Unilateral calls for unilateral; action requires action, “Joao Valle de Almeida told reporters in Westminster.
He complains of continuing mistrust between the two countries and says little has changed in the last 18 months since the government threatened to pass the internal markets bill.
Joao Valle de Almeida, right, said the protocol could not be renegotiated despite Liz Truss’s demands. Photo: WPA / Getty Images
“I am concerned about the low levels of trust that exist today, between the EU and the United Kingdom: between our leaders, between all of us involved in this relationship,” he said.
“Some people call it a saga. If this is a saga, if I look at the new season of the saga, it looks almost like a similar plot. Not much has changed. “
“We have the same story,” he added. “Use of legislation to repeal an international treaty. I feel again in the autumn of 2020 with the draft law on internal markets.
Vale de Almeida insisted there was no prospect of a change in the negotiating mandate given by the EU to his Brexit envoy, Maros Shefcovic, a request repeatedly made by the foreign minister.
“We have been told we need a new term. Well, I can tell you very clearly, what the Member States are telling us is very simple: you do not need a mandate and even if you ask for one, you will not get it, “he said.
“We cannot renegotiate the protocol: the ink on the signatures has hardly dried.”
Trusse set out her intentions in a dramatic statement earlier this week, in which she said she preferred a negotiated solution, but outlined plans for a bill that would revise aspects of the protocol.
The stakes in the dispute were raised after the DUP refused to participate in the executive branch to share power in Stormont, unless the protocol is radically changed.
The changes proposed by the government include the creation of a “green channel” that allows goods to pass unchecked from the UK to Northern Ireland, as long as they are not destined for the Republic of Ireland. This will give the UK more power to change VAT in Northern Ireland.
But Valle de Almeida rejected the offer. “The problem with this approach, we think, is that it doesn’t necessarily solve any problems and it probably creates more problems.
Instead, he suggested that the UK government return to the proposals to implement the protocol, which has already been drawn up by the EU. The quake dismissed the situation, but Brussels said ministers had not yet fully committed to them.
“We believe that what we have put on the table, the potential of these proposals has not yet been exhausted,” the ambassador said. “There is untapped potential for finding solutions in these proposals – provided we are focused on finding solutions.”
He argues that the volatile relationship with the protocol has had an impact on other aspects of UK-EU relations – including the UK’s participation in Horizon’s scientific cooperation program.
Recognizing the importance of UK scientists to the scheme, Almeida acknowledged that it was a “concomitant damage” in opposing the protocol.
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