Yesterday, the British Government presented its legislative proposals for next year through the so-called “Queen’s Speech”, a plan aimed, above all, at ensure the “growth and strengthening” of the economy post-pandemic and falling cost of living for British families.
But it is well known that with Boris Johnson you always have to read the fine print. And what he says is just as important as what he hides, or rather, what he exposes. an ambiguous way open to all kinds of interpretations.
That is why the words referring to Northern Ireland and its objective of “prioritizing” above all “support for the Belfast Agreement [Viernes Santo 1998]”. A priori, this should not represent any threat to the EU. But in practice, it has every intention, because Downing Street is preparing to scrap a bill to unilaterally break the Ireland Protocola key part of the Brexit deal, claiming that he is not breaking international law, but rather defending peace in Ulster.
Johnson never intended to apply the new post-divorce controls to goods between Northern Ireland and Britain. And now the historic triumph of the Sinn Fein republicans in the elections to the Belfast Assembly serves as a perfect excuse to defend that the formula agreed with Brussels to avoid hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland does not work.
The DUP protesters refuse to be part of the coalition government that both communities must respect by the Good Friday Agreements of 1998. The unionists feel completely betrayed by Johnson for having left the British province with a different status from the rest of the United Kingdom and threaten to paralyze the Belfast Assembly indefinitely until the Irish Protocol is not changed.
According to The Times, it is the head of British diplomacy, Liz Truss, who has asked officials to prepare a bill that could end up triggering a trade war with the bloc.
Initially, the bill was intended to give ministers the power, in principle, to override the Irish Protocol. But now it goes further than expected because, as well as suspending controls, it would also remove the powers of the European court of justice and all requirements for Northern Ireland companies to follow EU regulations, as they are now bound by the Brexit.
The bill could be introduced in the House of Commons – where the Conservatives have a large majority – as soon as next Tuesday. Officials have already warned Truss that the strategy could lead the EU to suspend all cooperation with the UK, except in Ukraine, and take legal action against the Executive.
The plans have created great division in the Cabinet itself. The head of the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, and the Communities Minister, Michael Gove, are opposed. The possibility of a trade war with the EU while the UK is on the verge of a possible recession is a really risky move. But Truss has been moving her cards for some time to position herself as the future leader of the Conservative Party and believes that this will help her gain more support in the far right wing of the party.
For now, London has not officially given up negotiations with Brussels. In fact, Truss is scheduled to meet this Thursday with the EU Vice President, Maroš Šefčovič, for a new appointment. However, government sources anonymously assure The Times that the head of British diplomacy was willing to go ahead with unilateral action after losing faith in what she calls “a computer that constantly says no.” [refiriéndose a su interlocutor]”.
After yesterday’s conversation between Johnson and Ireland’s `taoiseach’, Micheál Martin, the Number 10 underlined the serious situation now being experienced in Northern Ireland. “Despite repeated efforts by the UK government over many months to fix the situation, including sections relating to the movement of goods and governance, the European Commission has failed to take the necessary steps to help address the economic disruption and policy on the ground,” he added in a statement. “The Prime Minister reiterated that the UK government would take action to protect peace and political stability in Northern Ireland if solutions were not found,” he adds.
For his part, a spokesman for the Executive pointed out: “Our focus has been, and will continue to be, to preserve peace and stability in Northern Ireland. No decisions have yet been made on the way forward. However, the situation now is very serious. We have always been clear that steps will be taken to protect the Belfast agreement [Viernes Santo] if no solutions are found to fix the protocol”.
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