/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/madsack/2QL6WC7QM5BCRDEFODZURSPNCY.jpeg "Implement the Northern Ireland Protocol and forge long-term relationships")
Brussels. In view of the ongoing disputes over the trade agreements after Brexit, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has asked both sides to think about the long-term relationship. She is convinced that the tensions can be overcome with a constructive approach, said von der Leyen in Brussels on Tuesday.
“I’ve always said I want to start over with old friends,” said the President of the European Commission. Now at the beginning there are difficulties and serious questions that need to be resolved.
“I am deeply convinced that with a constructive approach and with the idea that we know that this is a long-term relationship that we are building here, these problems can easily be overcome.”
The background to this is the EU’s annoyance at the UK government’s delay in implementing new controls on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. These controls were agreed in the Brexit agreement.
Great burden of controls
Britain, on the other hand, says the controls put a great strain on British businesses and endangered peace in Northern Ireland. At the center of the dispute is the Northern Ireland Protocol, a Brexit mechanism that created a trade border in the Irish Sea to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
EU Parliament approves Brexit trade agreement
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With Parliament’s approval, the last step in the four-year negotiations in connection with Brexit has now been taken. © Reuters
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“We know that the exit agreement and the protocol are the best we could have gotten in a complicated situation,” said von der Leyen. “Now it is our duty on both sides to make sure that it works and that it is implemented.”
The EU is threatening legal action if the UK does not fully implement controls. Relations between the EU and the UK have been strained since the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1st. Both sides argued over issues such as vaccine deliveries or full diplomatic recognition of the EU in Great Britain.
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