Northern Irish minister orders end to post-Brexit controls
February 3, 2022, 8:45 am

Northern Irish minister orders end to post-Brexit controls

Brexit/Pixabay

The Euronews reported, citing the Associated Press, the Northern Irish Minister of Agriculture ordered his services to stop post-Brexit controls on foodstuffs at midnight, an order whose practical consequences and legality are being questioned in the midst of negotiations between London and Brussels.

The effective entry into force of Brexit a year ago led to the introduction of controls on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Designed to prevent the re-establishment of a physical border with neighbouring Ireland that would undermine the peace agreed in 1998, the Northern Ireland Protocol keeps the British province in the European single market and customs union.

Northern Irish Unionists, including Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots of the ultra-conservative DUP party, denounce the controls as a border in the Irish Sea that threatens the British province's place in the UK.

Poots has ordered the head of his administration to cease food controls at midnight on Wednesday at ports in the British province. It is unclear whether or not this order will be followed, with some within the DUP arguing that the administration is under a legal obligation to carry them out.

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Poots has said he has taken "legal advice" on the matter and argues that the checks require the approval of the local executive, which is lacking.

He told senators in Dublin that Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney denounced a "violation of international law". "This is playing politics with legal obligations."

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill, of the left-wing Republican party Sinn Fein, denounced on Twitter a move by the DUP to "illegally interfere with national and international law".

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This comes three months before crucial elections in May, when Sinn Fein, which favours a referendum on the reunification of the island within five years, is leading in the polls.

The controversial Northern Ireland Protocol is currently the subject of intense negotiations. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is due to hold talks with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic on Thursday in a call.

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Under pressure from unionists who have demanded progress by 21 February, the date of the next meeting of the joint UK-EU committee on the implementation of the Brexit agreement, the British diplomatic chief posted last week during a trip to Northern Ireland to make "significant progress" quickly.

Source: euronews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.