Ireland says UK plans effectively breach international law
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Proposed legislation published by Britain on Monday to override many post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland is effectively a breach of international law and nobody but London thinks otherwise, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.
“It’s effectively a breach of international law should this legislation become law. I haven’t met anybody outside of the British government that thinks that it isn’t a breach of international law when you deliberately disapply an international treaty,” Coveney told national broadcaster RTE.
Coveney added he did not believe there was any good reason for the move as the European Union is looking to negotiate with Britain to find a compromise that would solve the issues some businesses are having due to the rules.
Britain published plans on Monday to override some of the post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland by scrapping checks and challenging the role played by the European Union’s court in a new clash with Brussels.
Despite Ireland describing the move as a “new low” and Brussels talking of damaged trust, Britain pressed ahead with what Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested were “relatively trivial” steps to improve trade and reduce bureaucracy.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that Brussels’ reaction would be proportionate, but ruled out renegotiating the trade protocol.
