London reduces controls and distances itself from the CJEU in its breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol

MADRID, 13 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of the United Kingdom has undertaken this Monday the announced unilateral modification of the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed by Brexit and has presented a law with which it wants to reduce controls and bureaucracy in trade with Ulster and that leaves out the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of dispute resolution.

The Protocol was agreed in its day by London and Brussels to avoid a 'hard border' in Ulster and implies that Northern Ireland remains within the European common market. In practice, this forces the British authorities to introduce controls on the traffic of goods with the island of Great Britain, which did remain outside the single market.

London maintains that it is time to put an end to an "unsustainable" situation, in which the population of Northern Ireland receives "different" treatment from the rest of British citizens, while calling to "protect the supremacy of the courts ( of the United Kingdom) and territorial integrity".

For the British Foreign Minister, Liz Truss, who this Monday advanced the imminent presentation of the law in contacts with the European Commission and with Ireland, has defended that it is a "reasonable and practical solution" to the current "problems" , without implying the imposition of a "hard border" or violating, in his opinion, the common market.

Likewise, the Government of Boris Johnson has defended the need to take measures to "preserve peace and stability", in view of the fear that the current political uncertainty in Northern Ireland could ruin the peace agreements of 1998.

Since Brexit was consummated and London threatened to break with the protocol negotiated with the Twenty-seven, the European Union has warned the British Government of the consequences of unilateral measures inasmuch as it would mean violating an international treaty such as the divorce agreement signed between the parties, while offering to negotiate modifications that do not involve reopening the substantive agreement.

The European Commission, in fact, filed the United Kingdom in March of last year when it found the first breaches of the negotiated regime for Ulster but parked the infringement procedure in June to try to favor a negotiated solution, without progress having been made since then.

London maintains that its will continues to be to find a negotiated solution with Brussels and makes the European part ugly for its alleged lack of will to change the Protocol and fix the "practical problems" that arose after its implementation.

The new law includes changes on four fronts, including a bureaucratic review to reduce costs and paperwork in British domestic trade while maintaining "permanent controls" for those goods that do end up entering EU territory.

Companies will also be able to determine whether their goods should be governed by UK or EU regulations, to avoid alleged discrimination against British products, while Northern Ireland will be able to benefit from the same tax exemptions and spending policies as the rest of the country, for example in VAT rebates.

London also aspires to "normalize" that any possible dispute be resolved by an independent arbitration system and not by the CJEU, whose ultimate involvement has been a recurring reason for disputes in the negotiations in recent years.

The Johnson government maintains that its ultimate goal is still to reach an agreement with the European Commission, although a year and a half after the start of the dialogue, the parties have still not reached a minimum agreement. Brussels urges London to comply with what was signed, alleging that the opposite violates International Law.

Added to the controversy has also been the political instability of Northern Ireland, which has not started parliamentary activity after the last elections due to the refusal of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to start work if there was not a modification of the Protocol first.