European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday 22 July that the EU will continue to be “creative and flexible” on the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, but “we will not renegotiate”.
The President was called on 22 July by Boris Johnson, who asked the EU to agree to “amend the Protocol” and to “look seriously” at proposals made by the UK government to do so, according to a UK government statement.
The Prime Minister told the President that the Protocol, negotiated and signed by both parties in late 2019, was “unsustainable” in its current form.
“Solutions could not be found through the existing mechanisms of the Protocol. That was why we had set out proposals for significant changes to it”, Mr Johnson said, according to the statement.
“He urged the EU to look seriously at these proposals and work with the UK on them. There is a real opportunity to find sensible and practical solutions to the difficulties faced by people and businesses in Northern Ireland and, in so doing, put the UK-EU relationship on stable footing”, the UK government statement added.
On Wednesday 21 July, David Frost, the UK Minister for Europe, called in the UK Parliament for a pause in the implementation of the Protocol to allow for its renegotiation. He asked that only products going to Northern Ireland and destined for the Republic of Ireland, and therefore the single market, be subject to controls.
He also expressed London’s rejection of the governance of the Protocol by the EU Court of Justice, as London had agreed to during the negotiations on the withdrawal agreement.
“The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is the joint solution that the EU found with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Lord David Frost – and was ratified by the UK Parliament – to address the unique challenges that Brexit, and the type of Brexit chosen by the British government, poses for the island of Ireland”, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič had reacted in the aftermath.
“Its aim is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its parts, maintain peace and stability in Northern Ireland, avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, while preserving the integrity of the EU Single Market. In order for these objectives to be achieved, the Protocol must be implemented. Respecting international legal obligations is of paramount importance”, the Vice-President said.
Recalling that the EU has always sought “flexible and practical solutions” and agreed to extend the length of certain grace periods, the Vice-President also said: “we will not agree to a renegotiation of the Protocol”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)