Brussels / London: England will threaten this week to deviate from Brexit’s agreement except the European Union showing more flexibility over Northern Ireland, one British source and three EU sources told Reuters, a step that can encourage the divorce of the Brexit five years into turmoil.
Deviating from what is called the Northern Ireland protocol is a risky step.
The aim was to prevent Brexit from interfering with fine peace brought to Northern Ireland by the 1998 agreement ordered in 1998 which ended three decades of sectarian conflict.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who signed the Brexit 2020 agreement, was disappointed with the protocol that had imposed documents and checked that London said it could prevent the staple food of English food such as sausages that went to Northern Ireland.
David Frost, the British Minister who led Brexit’s negotiations, was preparing to announce a significant potential change in the protocol that could have a distant consequence for relations with the EU, one source said.
The plan is being worked on by Downing Street.
Frost will renew parliament on Wednesday about Northern Ireland and Brexit, and will also present Brexit papers to MPs.
After the Reuters report, Frost told parliament members, the protocol was not sustainable in its current form and that if an agreement could not be contacted, London would consider all options, including unilateral actions through Article 16 of the protocol.
“All options are on the table,” said Frost, when asked if he would consider triggering chapter 16.
“We have said it is not sustainable in the way it works now, everything must change.” Frost said it was unclear whether or not balancing the protocol or not.
Brussels expects Frost to encourage a deviation from the protocol except the UE agreed to compromise, a UE diplomat said for talks with British negotiators.
“We will not approve the reopening of the Irish Protocol,” said the third source, a senior UE official.
The UK is expected to exceed its demands for changes in veterinary rules.
The second senior EU and EU diplomat officials said that London would try to have a European Court (ECJ) issued from the arbitration process.
Preserving peace in Northern Ireland while protecting the UE single market but without dividing British always the most difficult puzzle of Saga Brexit since the 2016 referendum.
Since the United Kingdom out of the orbit block on January 1, Johnson unilaterally delayed the implementation of some provisions of the Protocol and Frost The protocol is not sustainable.
Frost insisted on the veterinary agreement bespoke based on equality which according to London would remove the need for control over the intersection of goods from the UK to Northern Ireland.
The UK argues that there must be a more flexible approach to Agri-Food rules to limit the impact on everyday life and will be clearly spelling what options and risks are.
The 1998 peace agreement majorly brought the purpose of “problem” (three decades of conflict between Catholic militant Irish and paramilitary “Protestant Loyalists pro-British where 3,600 people were killed.) Open Irish land borders were considered important for the spirit of the agreement by aiming to protect peace, Free trade and travel on the island.
But it became a problem after Brexit 2016 voting.
The EU could not close the land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland but it was afraid it could be a backdoor to the UE single market.
The result is a 63-page protocol in Ireland / Northern Ireland “, which effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the UE single market for goods and has Northern Ireland applying the UE customs rules in the port.
However, by placing checks on some items that cross between mainland British and Northern Ireland, many members of the Pro-British union said the protocol has violated the resolution of peace 1998.
Loyalist paramilitary groups told Johnson in March that they temporarily attract support for peace agreements for concerns for the Brexit agreement.