By Ben Kerrigan-
MPs are to vote on Monday on new legislation to give ministers the power to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.
Boris Johnson’s administration has argued that the measures to remove checks on goods and animal and plant products travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are necessary to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement and peace and stability. The UK says its unilateral approach is the only option left to resolve the issues “baked in” to the protocol if the EU maintains its refusal fundamentally to rewrite the terms of the deal.
Unionist opposition to the imposition of checks which they perceive as driving a wedge down the Irish Sea has seen the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refuse to return to the powersharing executive, leaving the region without a functioning government.
He suggested that the response to plans was more “muted” than expected.
As the Bill returns to Parliament for its second reading on Monday, MPs will debate its main principles and decide whether it can proceed for further consideration On Sunday, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis suggested it was “absurd” for Europe to issue warnings about a trade war with the UK when they had not fully implemented sanctions on Putin for invading Ukraine.
On Sunday, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis suggested it was “absurd” for Europe to issue warnings about a trade war with the UK when they had not fully implemented sanctions on Putin for invading Ukraine.
“What we’re talking about is fixing here some of the issues in terms of the implementation of the protocol that is so detrimentally affecting Northern Ireland,” he told Times Radio.
“What we’re talking about is fixing here some of the issues in terms of the implementation of the protocol that is so detrimentally affecting Northern Ireland,” he told Times Radio.
The government wants to change the NI Protocol to make it easier for some goods to flow from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
He suggested that the response to plans was more “muted” than expected.
As the Bill returns to Parliament for its second reading on Monday, MPs will debate its main principles and decide whether it can proceed for further consideration
Ahead of the vote, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the protocol was undermining peace in Northern Ireland.
The protocol is part of the 2019 Brexit deal and keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods, preventing a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
The government’s plans, published earlier in June, faced a fierce backlash from the EU, which launched legal action against the UK government over the legislation.
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has also threatened a potential trade war between the UK and EU, if the bill proceeds.
The protocol is opposed by unionists in Northern Ireland, who argue it undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Sinn Féin won the most seats in May’s assembly election but the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which came second, is refusing to re-enter a power-sharing executive until its concerns about the protocol are addressed.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday night that the protocol was undermining the peace and stability secured in Northern Ireland by the Good Friday Agreement.
Three Northern Ireland parties – Sinn Féin, Alliance and the SDLP, who collectively won the most seats in May’s election – say the protocol is necessary to mitigate the effects of Brexit in Northern Ireland.
The UK government published plans for the bill earlier this month. At the centre of the proposal is the concept of green lanes and red lanes for trade.
This would mean Goods coming from Great Britain (GB) into Northern Ireland (NI) and which are staying would use the green lane. This means there would be no checks and paperwork would be minimal.
GB goods moving through NI into Ireland or the wider European Union would use the red lane and continue to be checked at NI ports
London also wants any trade disputes resolved by “independent arbitration” and not by the European Court of Justice, and for Northern Ireland to benefit from the same tax breaks as elsewhere in the UK.
After a debate on Monday, MPs will then vote on whether the bill can proceed for further consideration.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed his party will vote against the legislation, adding that they would scrap the proposed laws if it was in power.