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Why does the delivery of meat, eggs and milk to supermarkets in Northern Ireland after Brexit have to go through customs inspection or even be banned?
Why after Brexit, the delivery of frozen meat products such as sausages to supermarkets on its own territory has to go through customs inspection or even be banned? This is the dispute between Britain and Europe surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The United Kingdom and the European Union accused each other of failing to fully comply with the provisions on the delivery of goods to Ireland agreed in the Brexit agreement. The recent trade dispute between the two parties has been called the “sausage war” by many British media.
The British government ministers will make a clear statement on how they hope to completely reform the “Northern Ireland Protocol” that will take effect after Brexit.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the 2020 Brexit Agreement and stipulates trade arrangements between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
But Lord Frost, the Secretary of State for Brexit, said that the agreement may mean that Britain is banned from shipping frozen meat products and sausages to Northern Ireland, which is “unfair and unsustainable.”
The agreement was negotiated between Lord Frost and the European Union, but he predicted that the terms of the protocol would need to be completely changed.
The EU immediately refused to re-negotiate the matter, saying it would seek other solutions.
British Prime Minister Johnson and EU President Von Delray had a telephone conversation on the matter a few days ago, but they have not yet reached an agreement.
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The two sides of the Irish Strait were originally interconnected, and there are new trade arrangements after Brexit. In the picture, the green British territory is in the middle of the Irish Channel, and the gray area is the Republic of Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the 2020 Brexit agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. It prevents the establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland (part of the territory of the United Kingdom) and Ireland (a member of the European Union) for trade inspections.
During the Brexit negotiations, all parties agreed that protecting the 1998 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) is an absolute priority. The Northern Ireland Protocol aims to maintain stability in Northern Ireland and prevent the recurrence of conflicts that have lasted for decades.
To achieve the above goals, this partly means keeping the land borders on the island of Ireland open and avoiding the establishment of new border infrastructure, such as the installation of cameras and border posts.
When the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union, Ireland and Northern Ireland were both part of the European Union. This is easy to do because they automatically share the same EU trade rules and do not need to carry out goods from one EU country to another EU country. examine.
However, after Brexit, a new institutional arrangement is needed.
The EU requires many goods, such as milk and eggs, to be inspected when they arrive at the EU border from non-EU countries, while some products, such as frozen meat, are not allowed to enter the EU at all.
According to the protocol, Northern Ireland agreed to continue to comply with EU rules on product standards (called the single market) to prevent border checks. Instead, inspections will be carried out on many goods entering Northern Ireland from England, Scotland, or Wales.
The inspection will be carried out at the ports of Northern Ireland, and the customs documents declaration must also be filled in for British goods entering the Northern Ireland area of the country.
This triggered criticism from the British that the Irish Sea had actually become a new border for Britain.
However, the agreement entered into force on January 1, 2021 and has now become part of international law.
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English sausages are a home-cooked food for people in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
What happened to the sausage dispute between the UK and the EU?
According to EU food safety regulations, frozen meat products are not allowed to enter the EU unified market from non-EU member states such as the United Kingdom.
This means that theoretically speaking, the delivery of sausages from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is no longer possible.
However, the grace period for Brexit has been implemented since January 2021. This period was originally scheduled to end on June 30, 2021, and has now been extended to September 30, but the United Kingdom and the European Union have not yet reached an agreement on how to resolve this dispute in the long term.
The United Kingdom has previously warned that if the extension is not approved, it is prepared to “ignore the rules” even though the United Kingdom signed these rules when negotiating the Northern Ireland Protocol.
During the G7 summit held in the United Kingdom in June this year, French President Macron and the British Prime Minister had a war of words due to the “sausage war”, and the dispute was raised to the height of “territorial integrity”.
At that time, British media reported that Macron was “as if he was talking about another country” when he talked about Northern Ireland. BBC Political Affairs Editor-in-Chief Kunsberg interviewed Prime Minister Johnson and asked him if he was offended by Macron’s remarks by the media. Johnson did not answer directly, but he said that it is the government’s duty to “ensure the territorial integrity of the UK”.
Macron later stated that France has always respected Britain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
What changes does the UK government require to make to the agreement?
British Prime Minister Johnson said that although the United Kingdom signed the agreement, the agreement made a huge compromise on behalf of the United Kingdom, and he also accused the European Union of being too strict in implementing the agreement.
Now, the British government hopes to cancel most inspections and reduce customs procedures so that goods can flow more freely. It also hopes to remove the oversight role of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice on how the protocol works.
The United Kingdom calls on the EU to agree to a new arrangement on the issue of grace period to maintain the status quo, and requires the EU not to take legal action during the negotiation period.
The British government urges the EU to view its proposal “with a whole new attitude.”
What does the European Union say?
The EU has always been critical of Britain’s position and insisted that the provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol must be implemented.
The EU said that it is ready to continue to find creative solutions, but will not agree to renegotiate the protocol.
It has filed legal proceedings against the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom may eventually be fined a huge amount.
The move was made in response to the UK’s decision in March to extend the separate grace period for supplies to Irish supermarkets to September 30. This grace period is only intended to last for three months so that supermarkets can adapt to the new system at the beginning of the new year.
The EU stated that the UK’s unilateral action violated international law because it did not seek EU opinion.
What is Article 16 of the Protocol?
Article 16 of the protocol allows either the UK or the EU to suspend any part of the agreement that causes economic, social or environmental problems.
The British government stated that there are already some problems and that Article 16 of the protocol can be legitimately activated.
However, the United Kingdom also stated that it will not unilaterally activate this clause before the meeting with Brussels.
The European Union announced earlier this year that it intends to use Article 16 to impose export controls on the new crown vaccine produced by the European Union. However, in the face of widespread criticism, the EU changed its mind within a few hours.
Unificationists in Northern Ireland who wanted to have close ties with the United Kingdom protested against the establishment of a trade border in the Irish Sea, which led to the division of Northern Ireland and the British mainland.
Will it cause safety problems?
Around the protocol, in addition to trade issues, it also involves political and security issues.
In early 2021, border inspections were temporarily suspended due to threats to some Northern Irish border workers.
Unificationists in Northern Ireland strongly oppose these inspections because they do not want Northern Ireland to be treated differently from other parts of the UK.
There have also been a series of demonstrations and protests against the establishment of any maritime border in the Irish Sea.
BBC chief political affairs correspondent Adam Fleming analyzed and pointed out: All signs indicate that Brexit is still not complete.