Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

UK Shares New Post-Brexit Trade Plan For North Ireland With European Union

UK Shares New Post-Brexit Trade Plan For North Ireland With European Union

The legal proposal, dispatched on the eve of the European Union setting out its own plans, comes amid vehement opposition to the so-called Northern Ireland protocol from some in the British province.

Britain on Tuesday said it sent the EU a new legal text to overhaul fractious post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, and renewed threats to abandon the current deal.

The legal proposal, dispatched on the eve of the European Union setting out its own plans, comes amid vehement opposition to the so-called Northern Ireland protocol from some in the British province.

It follows months of demands by London for the pact to be revised to change the rules around internal UK trade and the arbitration mechanisms governing it.

In a speech in Lisbon, Brexit minister David Frost argued the new text worked "with the grain" of the existing deal, but would "deliver significant change" and put it on a "durable footing".

"Without new arrangements in this area, no protocol will ever have the support across Northern Ireland it needs to survive," he said, reiterating warnings London could trigger a clause scrapping the agreement.

"We would not go down this road gratuitously or with any particular pleasure," he said.

"It is our fundamental responsibility to safeguard peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, and that is why we cannot rest until the situation has been addressed."

Britain voted to leave the EU in a landmark referendum in 2016. When it eventually departed from its rules and regulations at the start of 2021, the Northern Ireland protocol came into effect.

It has kept the British-ruled province inside elements of the EU customs union and single market in order to prevent a hard border with EU member Ireland.

The border was a former flashpoint in the sectarian conflict over British rule between pro-UK unionists and pro-Ireland nationalists, which wound down in 1998.

'No appetite'


However, the protocol has required new checkpoints at ports in the region to stop the risk of goods from England, Scotland and Wales getting into the EU by the back door.

Pro-UK unionists in Northern Ireland say it has created a border in the Irish Sea that undermines the province's place in the wider UK, and strengthens pro-Irish republicans' case for a united Ireland.

Frost denied Britain had agreed the protocol in December 2019 in bad faith without intending to implement it, insisting that it took "a risk" and blamed Brussels for its implementation.

His proposed changes include allowing goods to circulate virtually freely between Northern Ireland and the rest of mainland Britain and removing the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the scheme's ultimate arbiter.

"For the EU now to say that the protocol -- drawn up in extreme haste in a time of great uncertainty -- can never be improved upon, when it is so self-evidently causing such significant problems, would be a historic misjudgement," he warned.

His remarks came as the European Commission was poised to unveil its own plans Wednesday to accommodate British misgivings, with the mood in Brussels increasingly frustrated.

"There is no appetite among the member states to be strung along by Britain," an EU diplomat told AFP on Monday.

"The window for dialogue is closing and it's not good that even before the EU makes its proposal it is refused.

"This proposal will be as far as the EU can take it."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×