Brexit: UK urges EU to consider immediate overhaul of Northern Ireland Protocol

[Eugene]

Source: CNBC

Brexit: UK urges EU to consider immediate overhaul of Northern Ireland Protocol

PUBLISHED WED, JUL 21 2021 6:45 AM EDT UPDATED WED, JUL 21 2021 10:54 AM ET
Elliot Smith
@ELLIOTSMITHCNBC

The U.K. has called for a complete overhaul of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key tenet of the Brexit agreements that Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with the European Union in 2019.

The British government’s Brexit minister, Lord Frost, told Parliament on Wednesday that the agreement needs drastic changes and urged the EU to renegotiate, arguing that “we cannot go on as we are” given the “febrile political climate” in the region.

The U.K. is seeking to eliminate most checks on goods traveling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In a call with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Tuesday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the way the protocol is currently operating in practice is causing “significant disruption” for the people of Northern Ireland.

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The preservation of frictionless trade between the two islands is central to the Good Friday Agreement, a historic truce which brought an end to three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland between Irish separatists and British loyalists.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/uk-to-reportedly-warn-eu-that-it-may-override-key-brexit-agreement-on-northern-ireland.html

[msongs]

1. you wanted out and now you're out. nt

[The King of Prussia]

7. Unfortunate for Northern Ireland

Who voted NOT to get out.

[OnDoutside]

2. Johnson and Frost negotiated with the EU to get the Protocol !!!

They're so full of shit.

[Soph0571]

3. Just listening to BBC NI

Need to add that the DUP is also full of shit

[OnDoutside]

4. Yes, and at this moment they look to be in a lot of trouble in next year's NI Assembly elections

when potentially the Nationalists could become the largest grouping, meaning O'Neill would potentially become the First Minister. The DUP completely misjudged their Brexit & Johnson support, when he sold them down the river on the Protocol, in order to get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line.

[Soph0571]

5. Yeppers

Unless things change big style Michelle will be 1st minister. The unionist population is sick to the back teeth of them. The young unionist community is much more progressive than previous generations and they are moving to alliance or uup (who under Doug Beattie is moving the party in a more progressive direction). The loyalist community feel betrayed by the wet border and the compliance with the protocol and unless that is ripped up (which it won't be) they will not be coming out to vote - rather they will be coming out to riot. 3 way split away from the DUP and if Michelle is not 1st Minister I will eat my hat. And with the growing popularity of Sinn Fein in the republic... 10 years away from a border poll IMO. Not sure the republic would want to take us though! Intergenerational trauma has helped us develop somewhat unique national characteristics irrespective of green or orange. We would be quite the handful

[OnDoutside]

6. I'll be quite honest, I'll have a vote in the Border Poll and right now I most definitely wouldn't

vote for a United Ireland. I'm far from alone in that view, and I'm quite fearful that if SF get into government here in the South, they'll land us in another civil war.

On the Unionists, the big Unionist farmers of Mid Ulster will be waiting for the DUP too. They stand to get wiped out (like so many farmers in the UK), if the DUP/Johnson get the land customs border, and the UK then goes on to do a lower standards trade deal with the US.

[Soph0571]

8. Your analysis is spot on

Interesting you would go no in a border poll, I suspect that is the case both sides of the 'border' but for different reasons in the main. SF need to do one IMO as do DUP. The constitution is not the only frigging thing and as it stays that way for certain mindsets we end up with idiots leading the political charge. However if as you suggest they may go for a land border (I don't think they will, I think it is all performative), the US will tell the UK to do one on trade. Johnson and Frost talk a big game but they are talking bollocks, they could not give a shit for NI. Farmers left hanging as in GB. I suspect they would be delighted if we just fucked off to the republic. Of course even if a border poll went the way of independence Dublin would rightfully demand a huge payout from Westminster for it. We are not cheap to maintain... Westminster would not pay it. Under Boris they would say of course they will, but hell no behind closed doors.

We need leaders who are about making the basics work. Eventually I am sure there will be an all Ireland, there is so much cross border working on the issues that matter, infrastructure, healthcare etc. Hell my twin, hubby and niece (we grew up in an Ulster says no household) now holds an Irish passport. Makes perfect sense to them as they fly out of Dublin all the time and in her job is cross border meeting all the time. She is a Brit, she is Irish and she is Ulster all at the same time, and she is very comfortable with that identity. So maybe some hope for the future that this recent unrest will not go the way of the old days. We shall see.

[Eugene]

9. Brexit: Von der Leyen rejects Boris Johnson bid to renegotiate Irish protocol

Source: The Guardian

Brexit: Von der Leyen rejects Boris Johnson bid to renegotiate Irish protocol

EU has already proposed changes to lessen impact on Northern Irish citizens, say officials

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Aubrey Allegretti
Thu 22 Jul 2021 15.50 BST

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has rejected Boris Johnson’s move to renegotiate the Northern Irish protocol, raising the temperature of a simmering Brexit row.

“The EU will continue to be creative and flexible within the protocol framework. But we will not renegotiate,” she said after a call with the prime minister on Thursday.

EU sources said the call lasted about 30 minutes, and Von der Leyen made clear they spoke at Johnson’s request.

While not a surprise, her refusal – less than 24 hours after the government set out a plan to renegotiate a core part of the Brexit deal – is a blow to Johnson, who made repeated false claims that there would be no customs checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The EU has united against the UK blueprint to rewrite the Northern Irish protocol, a hard-fought agreement with Johnson in 2019 that created a customs border in the Irish Sea.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/22/von-der-leyen-rejects-boris-johnson-bid-to-renegotiate-irish-protocol