Brexit: David Davis warns of ‘three more years’ of negotiations
The Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed to in the Brexit deal, is designed to avoid customs checks along the Irish border. But confidence was seriously damaged in January when the EU decided to block the export of COVID-19 vaccines to Northern Ireland.
Tensions in Northern Ireland reached a boiling point and the nation was rocked by street violence in April.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to break the Northern Ireland Protocol unless a deal is found to ease the EU bureaucracy.
Before his meeting with Lord Frost, Scottish Foreign Secretary Angus Robertson warned that tensions between Britain and the bloc were “of great concern”.
He said: ‘The ongoing tensions between the UK government and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol are of great concern.
Meddling SNP demands ‘clarity’ in Brexit row (Image:.)
SNP Foreign Secretary Angus Robertson (Image:.)
“The whole thing could worsen the already damaging trade impact on Scotland of the UK government’s tough Brexit, and have broader ramifications for EU-UK relations, including further erosion of confidence.”
He said a recent UK government command document on a new way forward for the post-Brexit deal ‘played’ with Scotland’s trade with the EU.
Mr Robertson continued: ‘Lord Frost must explain to Scotland the rationale behind the UK government’s high risk and potentially provocative strategy, and provide them with the assurance that a damaging breakdown in relations can be avoided’ .
“Scotland is already suffering the damaging economic impact of Brexit and is being pulled against our will from a market around seven times the size of the UK.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Image:.)
“We need to do everything we can to avoid making that damage worse, so I will urge Lord Frost to ensure that the UK government proceeds in a spirit of collaboration, not conflict, with the EU.”
A UK government spokeswoman said: “It is clear that the Protocol is not working in its current form and significant changes are needed to ensure that it is sustainable for the future.”
“The protocol is causing disruption in people’s daily lives in Northern Ireland: companies are stopping shipping to Northern Ireland, there are increasing difficulties with the supply of medicines and products are disappearing from supermarket shelves” .
“We have set out our proposals for solving the serious problems with the Protocol in exhaustive detail in our Command Document.
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End of Brexit (Image: Express)
‘The EU must engage with us urgently on these issues; we are ready to move forward constructively. ‘
Brexit Minister Lord Frost urged that significant protocol changes were needed, saying “we cannot continue as we are.”
Lord Frost said that “it is clear that the circumstances exist to justify the use of Article 16”, but that “this is not the right time to do so”.
He added: “Instead, we see an opportunity to proceed differently, to find a new path, to seek to agree with the EU through negotiations a new balance in our agreements covering Northern Ireland for the benefit of all.”
Tensions in Northern Ireland reach boiling point (Image:.)
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis urged the EU to carefully consider the UK government’s renewed proposals.
However, the EU said that renegotiation is not on the table.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her ruling government have continued to call for Scotland to rejoin the EU should it achieve independence.
The SNP leader has attempted to use Brexit as a mandate to force another referendum, arguing that the UK’s exit from the EU was completed against the will of the Scottish people, who voted by a 62 percent margin to 38 percent. cent in 2016.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Image:.)
Johnson has refused to give in to those demands, insisting that the first referendum in June 2016 was a “once-in-a-generation event.”
Sturgeon claimed that Scotland was removed from the EU “against the will” of the country, which voted to remain part of the bloc.
She said: “Scotland is a country and not a region of a unitary state. Therefore, Scotland’s position is unique: a country, in a voluntary union, that has been withdrawn from the EU against the will of the majority of those who live here ”.
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