Debate: The UK government’s unilateral introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and respect for international law
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

Let me start by reaffirming that the European Union wishes to have a positive and stable relationship with the United Kingdom. We are partners facing the same global challenges where upholding the rule of law is imperative. And I think it was very well described by Minister Bek just a minute ago.  Our relationship must be, therefore, based on the agreements that both parties negotiated, agreed and ratified: the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement. The Protocol protects the Good Friday Belfast Agreement in all its dimensions, avoids the hard border on the island of Ireland, while protecting the integrity of the island of Ireland and the integrity of the internal market, and respects the constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.  Let us not forget that the Protocol was the only joint solution found to protect the hard-earned gains of the peace process in Northern Ireland, while addressing the challenges created by Brexit and the type of Brexit chosen by the UK Government.  So we need to be realistic. No alternative solution has been found and it is not needed. From the very beginning, we have shown a lot of understanding for the practical difficulties in the implementation of the Protocol and we demonstrated that solutions can be found within its framework. This is what we did, for example, with our medicines package. It was adopted in record time. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your crucial role in it.  We also proposed solutions in the customs and sanitary and phytosanitary areas in order to further facilitate trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We always insisted that we want to work towards joint solutions that are durable. Very importantly, we also made it clear that, whilst we stand ready to discuss facilitations, we will need firm guarantees as regards the protection of our internal market.  Throughout this time, we worked towards the joint outcome because only joint solutions would bring the legal certainty and predictability for the people and businesses in Northern Ireland. We made it clear that any unilateral action would only have the opposite effect, and it would erode trust between partners, which is the very basis for our work.  Despite all these efforts, the UK government tabled the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol Bill on 30 June. If adopted, this bill would disapply most provisions of the protocol, and this is unacceptable. There is no legal or political justification whatsoever for the UK to unilaterally change an international agreement.  First of all, there are other ways to solve the problems regarding the implementation of the Protocol together, and we proved that with our package of solutions we know how to do that.  Secondly, our interests and the other parties to the agreement are seriously harmed because this is about the conditions for Northern Ireland’s access to the EU’s internal market for goods. And it is simply legally and politically inconceivable that the UK Government decides these conditions unilaterally.  Let us not forget that the current trading arrangements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are not in line with the protocol because of the unilateral grace periods put in place by the UK Government.  The European Commission reacted in a proportionate and gradual manner. First of all, you will remember that we had paused legal action over the past year in order to create a constructive atmosphere to identify joint solutions. This bill goes against this spirit, and for that reason we have relaunched our legal action against the UK for not complying with key parts of the Protocol.  In parallel and further to extensive engagement with businesses in Northern Ireland, we have published in greater detail our model for the flexible implementation of the protocol, based on durable solutions within the Protocol. In a nutshell, our solutions were to create an express lane for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. They would reduce sanitary and phytosanitary checks and controls by more than 80%. They would cut customs paperwork in half. They would offer simplified certification, a single three-page document for the whole lorryful of different goods filled only once a month. And they would allow even the movement of certain goods that would otherwise be restricted, such as chilled meat.  This demonstrates that a solution exists. And as you just heard a few minutes ago from the Czech presidency, the European Union is united in this view. And I really would like to thank the French and Czech Presidencies for expressing the position and unanimous support of the Member States so clearly. And I want to express my gratitude to the European Parliament for its support to this approach as well.  I would like to close, honourable Members, by underlining that our door remains open to the UK for dialogue in order to identify joint solutions forward within the framework of the protocol, based on the solutions I have just mentioned. It is now for the UK to walk through that door, and I sincerely believe that with political will and genuine commitment, solutions are still within reach.