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The relationship between the UK and the EU is at risk of increasing instability as the UK refuses to fully implement subsequentBrexit A senior official in Brussels warned of Northern Ireland’s obligations.
The head of EU-UK relations, Maros Sefcovic, said that he hopes the two sides will reach a joint “road map” in early June that will resolve issues related to the introduction of new trade arrangements with the UK. The question provides a clear timetable. area.
Although the EU showed “creativity and pragmatism” in the discussions, the United Kingdom could not say that. The EU Brexit Commissioner told the Financial Times and revealed that he had warned his British counterpart David Frost about the increasing number of EU member states. The more impatient.
“To be honest, all these solutions come from our side,” Sefcovic said. “Obviously, if we don’t see positive developments, the atmosphere will get worse. [making it] It is even harder to seek political compromise. The political environment will be more challenging. “
emergency meeting
Sefcovic pointed out that the proposed meeting of the EU-Brexit Joint Commission in the week of June 7 is the moment to agree on a “joint approach” to resolve differences in the operation of the Northern Ireland trade border. Since April, EU and British officials have been working on such plans.
Both sides are worried about the situation escalating intense situation Held in Northern Ireland before the so-called marching season, the Protestant Orange Order in the area will hold a traditional parade.
The Northern Ireland Protocol in the UK’s 2019 EU Withdrawal Treaty established a trade and veterinary border in the Irish Sea managed by the UK to avoid any north-south inspection of the island of Ireland. But the facts proved that this caused great controversy in the trade union community in the area, leading to a wave of riots in April.
Sefcovic said that the EU is working hard to resolve the issues related to the agreement that have emerged since the new EU-UK trade agreement came into effect on January 1-from the barrier to the movement of guide dogs between Northern Ireland and the UK to tariff issues, steel, and used cars. Value-added tax, and a more general issue of food safety inspections.
However, “from the UK perspective, we still don’t have a basic answer,” Sefcovic said, noting that the European Union requires real-time access to IT systems to monitor trade, as well as the need to develop clear UK deployment and staffing plans for cargo border checkpoints.
“Increasingly impatient” with Britain
He warned Frost In a conference call last week, “The EU is getting more and more impatient [to see] The UK will now propose a solution” to fulfill its obligations under the Protocol.
In contrast, the United Kingdom believes that the European Union lacks flexibility in the need to inspect products from the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland.
“The European Union continues to treat the regulatory border of the Irish Sea as the same as any other EU external border, even though the single market risks are very limited,” said a spokesperson for the British government.
“This has led to reduced supply and options on supermarket shelves, cancellation of deliveries, retailers pulling products away, and interfering with the movement of pets and packages. This ongoing interruption is undermining the entire agreement,” the spokesperson added.
Sefcovic stated that the EU needs to ensure the “integrity” of its single market by ensuring that products undergo proper scrutiny, but he reiterated his proposal to the UK Swiss style The veterinary agreement will eliminate the need for food safety controls-the UK rejects this step because it means it will continue to be consistent with EU rules. He added that Brussels is trying to find practical solutions to trade stimulus, and he said: “To be honest, I don’t know what else we can do.”
The key meeting of the joint committee next month may be held back-to-back with another EU-UK meeting focused on trade, shortly before Joe Biden will arrive in the UK for the G7 summit. European capitals have speculated that the US President’s visit to Europe will provide him with an opportunity to promote progress in Northern Ireland’s trade arrangements.
Legal threat
Sevkovic said that the United Kingdom needs to realize that Brussels is also a “political space”. He cannot let the governments of the European Union “see, these are the 10 things I have solved for the United Kingdom” and only answer “zero, nothing”, and be the capital When asked what he got in return.
Brussels is also underway Legal action After the United Kingdom unilaterally extended some grace periods for the normal requirements for businesses transporting goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Sefcovic said that the UK’s written response to the Brussels complaint was “disappointing”. If “we did not hear any more constructive news” at the June meeting of the Joint Committee, the EU may have no choice but to The dispute escalated.
This will mean entering the final procedural steps before dragging Britain to the European Court of Justice.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen chose Sefcovic, who has been the Slovak EU Commissioner since 2009, to lead Brussels to implement this year after the Brexit chief negotiator left. Work on the agreement with the UK Michel Barnier.
This is a stressful job, because the capitals of the European Union are increasingly annoyed that certain parts of the new relationship have not subsided. This includes not only Northern Ireland, but also fishing rights and work permits for Central and Eastern Europeans.
Sefcovic said that the EU has been angry after some EU citizens were detained in immigration detention centers after arriving in the UK without a visa. “You can imagine how my phone rang and how many letters I received,” he said, adding that since then, he has had fruitful contacts with the British Home Office.
Sefcovic said that he previously expected that he has been working with London to develop an active agenda to ensure that Northern Ireland takes advantage of its unique position in the EU single commodity market and the UK market.
He said the agreement “should be transformed into an excellent opportunity for Northern Ireland.”
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