Ireland has urged the United Kingdom to defuse Brexit concerns over Northern Ireland
On Sunday, Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to introduce new post-Brexit trade restrictions that could jeopardize the Northern Ireland peace process.
Top officials in Johnson’s government have warned that if the restrictions for products entering and leaving the British-run province aren’t changed, the European Union will be concerned.
Coveney stated that London, Dublin, and Brussels could find solutions to Northern Ireland’s trade challenges, which have enraged pro-British MPs.
“But sabre-rattling and grand-standing in Westminster, ratcheting up tension, is not the way to do it,” he told Sky News television.
Because of its open border with EU member Ireland, Northern Ireland was effectively left in the bloc’s single market and customs union when Britain left the EU. This created a customs border with Britain.
Coveney stated that he would meet with British Foreign Minister Liz Truss on Monday.
“There is a possibility to get this debate back on course,” Coveney said, imploring London not to “deliberately flout international law and create significant tension with our closest neighbors, potentially harming a peace process.”
Pro-union parties oppose the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, which sets out the trade arrangements, while pro-Irish parties accept it, resulting in further gridlock in Northern Ireland.
Johnson is scheduled to visit the province on Monday, according to his office, and will give a “strong message” to political leaders in order to restore the province’s power-sharing institutions.
According to Downing Street, Johnson will claim that he never proposed eliminating the Protocol, which instead needs to be amended to achieve its original goal of protecting the Northern Irish peace agreements.
According to British business minister Kwasi Kwarteng, London has the right under the Protocol to take unilateral action to address trade concerns, and political stability is London’s first priority.
“It’s apparent to me that without procedural modifications, you won’t get an assembly, you won’t get an executive, and that weakens stability,” Kwarteng told Sky.
The US has advocated for ongoing talks between the UK and the EU in order to end the impasse.
