David Frost, who negotiated on behalf of the United Kingdom in the Brexit process last year, lashed out at the European Union on Sunday. Frost, who is now an EU adviser to Boris Johnson’s government, calls in the EU The Sunday Telegraph maliciously and says that Brussels is completely to blame for the new conflict over Northern Ireland.
The reason for the criticism is the legal step that Brussels is currently considering. On Wednesday, the British decided on their own to postpone customs controls for British products going to Northern Ireland for six months. According to the EU, this goes against the Brexit agreement, with which the British would therefore violate international law.
Frost turns it around and writes that the UK had no other choice after the EU considered setting up customs controls on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland last month. After a storm of criticism, the measure was nevertheless scrapped. “This behavior of the EU has seriously damaged confidence in the Northern Ireland protocol (which keeps the Irish border open, ed.)”, Said Frost.
In the new situation after Brexit, Northern Ireland belongs to the European customs union, which means that free movement on the Irish island remains possible. Products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain do need to be checked. The new situation has, among other things, led to empty shelves in Northern Irish supermarkets, which forced the UK to further postpone border controls. “The step has been taken to protect the daily lives of Northern Irish people so that they can continue to receive packages and run errands,” Frost writes.
“I hope that they (the EU, ed.) Will shake off malice towards the UK and choose to build a friendly relationship as two sovereign powers,” the British EU adviser concluded.
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