The United Kingdom cannot “unilaterally change” the content of the withdrawal agreement that has been negotiated “line by line for 3 years”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reacted on Wednesday, 2 days after the UK Parliament gave its first green light to the UK’s Internal Market Bill containing provisions that violate the Northern Ireland Protocol (see EUROPE 12560/21).
“It is a matter of law, trust and good faith”, she said, quoting former British leader Margaret Thatcher, who in 1975 assured that “Britain does not break treaties. It would be bad for Britain, bad for relations with the rest of the world, and bad for any future Treaty on trade”.
The UK and the EU “agreed” that the protocol “is the best and only way for ensuring peace (in Ireland); and we will never backtrack on that”.
The President of the Commission further indicated that “with every day that passes, the chances of (having) a timely agreement do start to fade” and acknowledged that, on the subject of future relations, “we have not moved forward as we would have liked”.
On Wednesday, the EU Ambassadors to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) took stock with Michel Barnier of the state of play in the negotiations. The general message of this rather short discussion was to remain calm and avoid responding to what the EU27 consider to be “a provocation” from London on the withdrawal agreement, a European source reported.
The negotiator reiterated the outstanding points in the discussions on the future relationship (level playing field, fisheries) but, according to this source, he would have opened up additional flexibility on the timetable, as the EU27 could, in his view, extend by one week the deadline for reaching an agreement, which is currently set for mid-October. However, the deadline remains short and it will be imperative to have time to consult the European Parliament, but also, possibly, national parliaments, according to some delegations.
Michel Barnier’s next update will be with EU Ministers on 22 September, at the General Affairs Council. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)