On Friday 5 November, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič described as “disappointing” the UK government’s response to the European Commission’s proposals of 13 October to relax the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (see EUROPE 12811/14).
He felt that London had not yet taken any “move” towards the European Commission, whereas the latter, with this package on the table, had taken a “big move”.
The Vice-President, who met his British counterpart, David Frost, for the third time today, called on the British government to engage seriously in discussions on these proposals, which could lead to the removal of “80% of all sanitary and phytosanitary checks” required between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he said.
The Vice-President also warned London against triggering Article 16 of the Protocol, as the UK government has been threatening to do since July.
“We hear a lot about Article 16 at the moment. Let there be no doubt that triggering Article 16 would have serious consequences”, leading to both “great instability and unpredictability” for the province and also signalling to the EU that London “rejects EU efforts to find a consensual solution”.
Without saying at this stage what action the European Commission would take in such a scenario, the Vice-President added that he would see David Frost again on 12 November in London and that the coming week of talks would be “important” in this sense.
For his part, David Frost stressed in a statement that “progress has been limited and that the EU proposals do not currently effectively address the fundamental difficulties in the way the Protocol works”. But “these gaps could still be filled by further intensive discussions”.
However, on his arrival in Brussels, the Minister indicated that, while the government did not intend to activate Article 16 at this stage, it remained fully “on the table”.
As a reminder, Article 16 allows for the suspension of the Protocol’s measures for a limited period of time, if they cause major economic or socio-economic disruption, and for their replacement by targeted and proportionate measures to address the problems. London could therefore suspend all controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also part of the single market.
The two parties should therefore quickly meet in a joint committee, the first instance of dispute settlement.
Fishing: all legitimate French boats must receive their licence
The two men also discussed the dispute between Paris and London over licences for French fishing boats. The Vice-President stressed that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is “clear”: vessels that were already fishing in UK waters “should be allowed to continue”, and all French vessels eligible for a licence “should receive one”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)