LONDON (Sputnik) – Fears of a trade war between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) have grown as UK Brexit Minister Lord Frost is expected to reject offers made by the EU, local media reported.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who is in charge of the bloc’s post-Brexit relations with Britain, is set to submit four papers on 13 October on how the ongoing row over the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) can be resolved, with the official describing the proposals as “very far reaching”.
Among the offers is a “national identity” exemption for British sausages and other chilled meats from the European Union’s ban.
According to The Guardian, in a speech in Portugal on 12 October, Frost will signal that the proposed measures are not enough to resolve the dispute between the two sides. The Telegraph writes, citing its sources, that Frost will call for significant changes to the NIP, including the removal of the European Court of Justice from its role in overseeing the accord, which the official is expected to describe as a “red line” for Britain.
“Without new arrangements in this area the protocol will never have the support it needs to survive”, the minister will say, as per the newspaper
The news of the UK’s stance has prompted criticism. Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has voiced doubt that the government of Boris Johnson wants to resolve the differences and reach a compromise deal with Brussels.
At the heart of the row is the NIP, a provision of the Brexit deal that the sides struck after the United Kingdom left the bloc in January 2020. The accord ensures that there is no hard border between the Republic of Ireland (an EU member) and Northern Ireland (part of the UK). This is important, as Belfast was the scene of a sectarian conflict in the 20th century dubbed “The Troubles” that left more than 3,600 dead and 30,000 injured. One of the sides (Republicans) opposed Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom and wanted it to join the Republic of Ireland.
The other side (Unionists) wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. The conflict ended in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace treaty that, among other things, stipulated that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should be almost non-existent – no border posts and no cameras.