The United Kingdom published legislation on Monday that would alter the Northern Ireland Protocol, in a move the EU denounced as a unilateral action that was "damaging to mutual trust." The EU's Brexit negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, said in a statement following the publication of the law that renegotiating the Protocol was "unrealistic". He said the EU would consider re-launching legal action against the United Kingdom to protect the single market "from the risks that the violation of the Protocol creates for EU businesses and for the health and safety of EU citizens" Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed earlier that the draft law would only bring "trivial changes", dismissing concerns the controversial legislation could usher in a trade war with the European Union. Johnson told LBC radio that the bill is "the right way forward". "What we have to respect, this is a crucial thing, is the balance and the symmetry of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement," he said, adding that "one community at the moment feels very estranged". European leaders had warned that the draft law could deeply damage the relationship between Brussels and London. The Protocol, which was negotiated and agreed upon by both Brussels and London as part of the UK's divorce from the bloc, kept Northern Ireland within the EU's single market in order to avoid a border with the Republic of Ireland. This means that goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must be checked, effectively creating a de-facto border in the Irish Sea. Johnson's Conservative government now claims the Protocol endangers the Good Friday Agreement which put an end to decades of sectarian violence on the island of Ireland while unionists in Northern Ireland are refusing to join a new devolved government until their concerns are acted upon. The EU has however refused to reopen negotiations into the Protocol, demanding that any changes be made within its framework. It has warned that any other unilateral action to change the deal would breach international law. Johnson said that the bill would bring "bureaucratic change" and a "relatively trivial set of adjustments". Reports had claimed the draft law could include a two-way system with checks on goods intended for the Northern Irish market only to be completely waived. London, which has railed over the role of the European Court of Justice over potential disputes, is also expected to chip away at the court's authority. Asked about possible retaliation from Brussels and the threat of a looming trade war, Johnson said it would be a "gross over-reaction". "All we're trying to do is to simplify things," he added. Ireland's Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, warned however on Monday following a 12-minute phone call with British Brexit Minister Liz Truss, that "publishing legislation that would breach the UK's commitments under international law, the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol is deeply damaging to relationships on these islands and between the UK and EU." "Minister Coveney said it marks a particularly low point in the UK's approach to Brexit," the statement said, adding that "the UK's unilateral approach is not in the best interest of Northern Ireland and does not have the consent or support of the majority of people or business in Northern Ireland. "Far from fixing problems, this legislation will create a whole new set of uncertainties and damage relationships," it also said. Truss also spoke on Monday morning with Šefčovič, who also emphasised that "unilateral action is damaging to mutual trust and a formula for uncertainty". Coveney and Šefčovič also spoke one-on-one. "We're on the same page," Coveney wrote on Twitter. "EU remains keen to find a negotiated solution to NIP through partnership and compromise, but we need a partner that is willing to meet us half way!" A majority of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly — MLAs — also announced in a letter to Johnson on Monday that they "reject in the strongest possible terms your Government's reckless new Protocol legislation, which flies in the face of the expressed wishes of not just businesses, but most people in Northern Ireland." The letter was signed by 52 of the Assembly's 90 members including non-aligned MLAs — neither nationalist nor unionist — from the Alliance party. They describe the Protocol as "a product of the hard Brexit" that they say Johnson championed and stress that "whilst not ideal" it currently "represents the only available protections for Northern Ireland from the worst impacts that hard Brexit". They added that the Protocol "offers clear economic advantages" to the region. They call for "engagement with the European Union" on the basis of "trust and the rule of law rather than law-breaking and unilateral abrogation of treaty obligations." "Finally, we strongly reject your continued claim to be protecting the Good Friday Agreement as your Government works to destabilise our region," it also states. — Euronews
