Boris Johnson will sit down tonight for an awkwardly timely G7 braai with EU leaders – as his controversial new law ignoring the Brexit agreement with Brussels faces its first parliamentary hurdle.
Tonight, the Prime Minister will share wurst in Bavaria with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, as well as the EU’s Ursula Von der Leyen as he continues his foreign diplomatic tour.
Meanwhile, back in Westminster, MPs are going to vote on controversial new legislation to give ministers powers to ignore parts of the post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland.
The UK has insisted that its unilateral approach is the only option to resolve issues ‘in the protocol’ if the EU maintains its refusal to fundamentally refuse to rewrite the terms of the agreement.
But the move provoked a severe setback from the bloc, with new legal action being taken against Britain last week.
Government sources said they were “fairly confident” of avoiding a major uprising tonight.
And Mr. Johnson hinted today that his plan to effectively tear parts of the Northern Ireland protocol could be done ‘fairly quickly’ and be in place by the end of the year.
The Prime Minister told reporters at the G7 summit in Germany, which is also attended by senior figures from the European Union, that ‘the interesting thing is how little this conversation is going on, definitely here’ – indicating that he do not expect a major. diplomatic row.
Tonight, the Prime Minister will share wurst in Bavaria with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, as well as the EU’s Ursula Von der Leyen as he continues his foreign diplomatic tour.
Boris Johnson’s administration has argued that measures to remove controls on goods and animal and plant products traveling from Britain to Northern Ireland are necessary to protect the Good Friday Agreement and peace and stability.
Mr Johnson joined European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Italy’s Mario Draghi during a working dinner during the first day of the G7 leaders’ summit at Bavaria’s Schloss Elmau
“What we are trying to do is fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast / Good Friday agreement.
‘You have one tradition, one community, that feels that things really do not work the way they want or understand, you have unnecessary barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“All we are saying is that you can get rid of it while in no way endangering the EU internal market.”
Asked if the measures could be in place this year, he said: “Yes, I think we can do it very quickly, if Parliament wants.”
He said it would be ‘even better’ if we could get some of that flexibility we need in our talks with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice-president, adding: ‘We remain optimistic.’
Mr Johnson’s administration argued that measures to remove checks on goods and animal and plant products traveling from Britain to Northern Ireland were necessary to protect the Good Friday Agreement and peace and stability.
Unionist opposition to the imposition of checks that they say drives a wedge into the Irish Sea has caused the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to refuse to return to executive power sharing power and the region without a functioning government left it.
The Vice-President of the European Commission has indicated to Maros Sefcovic that further measures could be taken if the UK continues with the bill.
The dispute could eventually lead to a trade war, with tariffs or even the suspension of the entire Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU.
Foreign Minister Liz Truss said the government’s Northern Ireland protocol bill would ‘solve the problems’ caused by the post-Brexit arrangements in the region.
‘A negotiated solution was and remains our preference, but the EU continues to rule out the amendment of the protocol itself – even though it clearly causes serious problems in Northern Ireland – which therefore means that we are obliged to act, she said.
A source close to the Foreign Secretary added: ‘There is ultimately a simple logic to doing this legislation: the protocol undermines the Belfast Good Friday agreement and creates numerous problems in Northern Ireland, but the EU still refuses to change or renegotiate the protocol. , therefore, we are obliged to act.
‘It seems that simple logic wins some of the shaky / moderate types in the middle of this debate.
‘Sefcovic said as recently as last week that the EU would not renegotiate the protocol, which would rather prove our point.
‘Ideally, we will achieve the same solutions as the legislation through a negotiated settlement, but this is impossible unless the EU accepts that parts of the protocol itself need to be rectified.
‘International agreements change all the time when circumstances change – and Article 13 of the protocol itself allows it to be changed – so we are a little taken aback by the EU’s position that the protocol is set in stone and cannot be changed. It can and should be. ‘
The prime minister scaled down concerns about legal challenges during a trip to Rwanda earlier this week.
“We have a lawsuit against us because we do not have proper customs procedures, all sorts of things,” he said.
I suggested that the response to plans was more ‘muted’ than expected.
As the bill returns to parliament this afternoon for its second reading, MPs will debate its main principles and decide whether it can proceed for further consideration.
Ms Truss will tell the Commons that the legislation is a basis for a lasting and sustainable solution that protects the Good Friday Agreement, avoids a hard border, protects the EU internal market and ensures the integrity of the UK.
However, she is likely to be received with a setback by those who oppose the move.
Sir Keir Starmer said Labor would abide by the proposed laws when it came to power, and confirmed that his party would vote against the legislation in Westminster.
Mr Sefcovic had previously refused to rule out a trade war, saying: “We must keep all options on the table.”
But he stressed the EU’s preference to find a negotiated solution to the problems caused by the protocol, and lamented the ‘radio silence from London since February’.
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis on Sunday suggested it was ‘absurd’ for Europe to issue warnings about a trade war with the UK when they did not fully implement sanctions against Putin for invading Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Liz Truss said the government’s Northern Ireland protocol bill would ‘solve the problems’ caused by the post-Brexit arrangements in the region.
“What we are talking about is to solve some of the problems here in terms of implementing the protocol that is affecting Northern Ireland so badly,” he told Times Radio.
The EU’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Joao Vale de Almeida, said the government was probably ‘on the road to nowhere’.
He spoke to Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday about the bill, saying: ‘We do not reject (what the UK has proposed), but we read it very carefully and, to be very honest, we think it is both illegal and unrealistic. ‘
Together with the second reading, the Government launches a series of ‘structured commitments’ with the business community to discuss and solicit opinions on the implementation of the Bill.
The Foreign Office is hosting the first roundtable event on Monday, bringing together more than a dozen major UK businesses and representative groups, including the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Asda, John Lewis and the Dairy Council NI.