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Financial Timesciting three people familiar with the plans, he said sections of the market bill, scheduled for publication on Wednesday, are expected to “remove legally binding portions of the withdrawal agreement” in areas such as government aid and Northern Ireland customs.
This “could undermine the Northern Ireland agreement that Boris Johnson signed last October to avoid a return to the hard border in the region,” one person familiar with the plans told the FT.
The message has exacerbated tensions between London and Brussels.
like trade negotiations after Brexit will enter the eighth round this week. “The withdrawal agreement has been signed and ratified by the UK and the EU and is in force,” one EU diplomat told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If the UK decides not to respect him, then in theory the EU will have to take legal action,” the diplomat added.
In a statement on Twitter, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said a move like the one described in the FT “would be a very unwise course” with regard to Brexit.
The UK government has not disputed the FT’s story, although UK Environment Secretary George Eustis suggested in an interview with Sky News that the story could be “exaggerated.” He added that “the Northern Ireland protocol has been agreed” and “is part of the withdrawal agreement.”
A government spokesman described the proposed law as a fallback. The spokesman said: “We are working hard to resolve outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol through the Joint Committee and will continue to approach these discussions in good faith, as a responsible government, we are looking at fallbacks in the event that this is not achieved. to ensure the protection of communities in Northern Ireland. “
Two Downing Street sources familiar with the government’s Brexit plans told CNN they did not acknowledge much of the FT’s report. However, the news came on the same day Johnson warned that unless a deal between London and Brussels is struck before October 15, when EU leaders are to meet to discuss Brexit, the UK will abandon negotiations. “There is no point in thinking about a timeline beyond this point,” Johnson said in a statement. “If by that time we cannot agree, then I do not see that there is an agreement on free trade between us, and we both have to accept this and move on.”
In recent weeks, there have been signs of tension in the negotiation process. Brussels fears that the UK is trying to strike a deal on terms that mean it will not honor its commitments to the EU in the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK believes Brussels is making demands for government aid and fisheries that go far beyond those agreed last year, and that the EU refuses to recognize that the UK is now an independent country.
Against this backdrop, it should come as no surprise that the EU will backtrack on any proposals the UK plans to undermine with the 2019 exit agreement. “Interestingly, the leak appeared in the Financial Times, which has an international audience,” said the EU diplomat.
While Downing Street’s harsh rhetoric may worry officials in Brussels, some in London believe Johnson is laying the groundwork for a major concession this fall to secure a Brexit deal. A number of Brexit supporters told CNN last week that the best way to break the current impasse is to scrap parts of the withdrawal agreement.
Whatever the true intentions of the UK government, recent events have made Brussels nervous as the Brexit saga is fast approaching its final chapter.