Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission for United Kingdom Relations, reiterated his criticism of the government’s “illegal” plan to tear down parts of Northern Ireland Protocol, two days after the bill overcame its first hurdle in House of Commons. He also made his most immediate appeal to London to turn the page. “It’s time to end Brexit,” Seftsovich said, referring to the prime minister’s 2019 campaign slogan. natural allies, “he added. “Where the rule-based order is under pressure, strengthening Western unity should be our moral imperative.” He was speaking at Bloomberg headquarters in London, where David Cameron began his unfortunate attempt to renegotiate the UK’s position in the EU nine and a half years ago. In that 2013 speech, the then Conservative prime minister said Britain would remain linked to the EU with a complex network of legal commitments. “If we leave the EU, of course we can not leave Europe,” Cameron said, referring to Šefčovič as calling for “strong EU-UK strategic relations”. In a sharp rebuke to the current prime minister’s changing position on the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed with the EU in 2019, Sefsovic said: “I agree with Prime Minister Johnson’s assessment from 2019 that the protocol is fully compatible with the agreement. Good Friday (Belfast). . » Under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Northern Ireland remains largely in the EU single market to avoid the harsh borders on the island of Ireland. The Slovak official said the protocol offered Northern Ireland the best of both worlds, or “having jam on both sides of the bread”. Under the agreement, the region can easily trade with the EU, as well as benefit from any trade agreements the UK signs with the rest of the world. He blamed the government for failing to commit, which he said was “extremely disappointing as the majority of people in Northern Ireland can appreciate the positive benefits and opportunities that the protocol brings”. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST A Queen’s University Belfast poll released on Wednesday found that 55% of people in Northern Ireland believe the protocol is the right arrangement, although 59% believe it has had a negative impact on political stability in Northern Ireland and British relations with the Republic of Ireland. Šefčovič reiterated his proposal to reduce the protocol bureaucracy, but said it was “unrealistic and unfair” for London to wait for all obstacles to be removed when goods travel to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. The government said companies should be able to choose between a British or an EU regulatory regime, which Sefsovic said would “bury them under a mountain of bureaucracy”. In particular, Commission officials have expressed skepticism that the Northern Ireland Protocol bill will ever become law, although Johnson predicted it would be in the statutes by the end of the year.
