Von der Leyen warns the UK against overriding Brexit agreement
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The European Union told Britain on Monday that there would be no trade deal if it tried to tinker with the Brexit divorce treaty, raising the prospect of a tumultuous end-of-year finale to the saga.
In yet another twist to the four-year saga since Britain voted to quit the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was reported to be planning new legislation to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement it signed in January, a move which legal experts warned could defy international law.
I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law & prerequisite for any future partnership. Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island & integrity of the single market.
That could jeopardise the whole treaty and create frictions in British-ruled Northern Ireland, where special arrangements had been made to avoid a hard border with Ireland to the south that could be detrimental to the 1998 peace agreement which ended three decades of conflict in the province.
“I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law & prerequisite for any future partnership,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
“Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island & integrity of the single market.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that according to cables leaked from Brussels, EU leaders are suspecting that British PM Johnson is holding back on finding a compromise on the key outstanding issues of fisheries, state aid and dispute resolution until the last moment in order to achieve a last-minute “trade off”.
