Jim Allister: UK government has no interest in reversing EU sovereignty grab of Northern Ireland

The agreement is significant in at least two respects, but first we should understand what our sovereign UK government has agreed.

It has committed to sharing with a foreign power the intricacies and details of how we operate our trade in the UK, down to the last load sent to NI, with no mutual sharing from the EU. The potential advantage to the EU and Republic of Ireland is obvious.

The twofold political significance is:

a) the resulting entrenchment of the protocol;

b) the direction of travel it confirms.

The entrenchment which this agreement affords the protocol arises from the breath and depth of the commitment made. It entails this one-way sharing with the EU of the details of customs declarations, goods vehicle movements and manifests of loads etc.

Take customs declarations: this iniquity arises directly under the protocol whereby goods coming to NI from GB require a customs declaration.

Customs declarations properly arise where goods are leaving one sovereign jurisdiction and moving to a different jurisdiction operating under a different regime.

In our case, such declarations (which could ultimately lead to paying customs tariffs) only arise because the protocol decrees and operates on the basis that GB is a third or foreign country and NI is under the jurisdiction of the EU’s single market and customs code. This agreement is on that premise.

Customs declarations crystallise the constitutional affront of the protocol, confirming NI is no longer to be treated as part of the UK single market, but, instead, is colonised into the EU regime with the imposition of all its resulting laws and regulations. It is this monumental assault on our position as a part of the UK which this agreement entrenches. Moreover, it makes the disapplication of Art 6 of the Acts of Union permanent.

The second alarming effect of this agreement is its confirmation of the road the UK government is now on.

It patently has moved to the EU’s position that the present talks are about better implementation of the protocol only and that the EU position of no change to its text is being pandered to.

It is only by radical change to the text of the protocol that our constitutional position in the UK can be recovered.

Sadly, it now appears HMG has no interest in reversing the EU sovereignty grab of NI. Knocking the rough edges of the protocol does nothing to remove or make it acceptable to any thinking unionist.

Nor can this agreement and what may flow from it make a return to the Stormont executive possible, particularly following the recent ruling in the High Court that ministers in office must implement the protocol and its Irish Sea border. No unionist worthy of the name could do that, because to do so is to join in the systematic dismantling of the Union itself. Thus the intention of talks this week to coerce unionism back into the Executive must fail.

Jim Allister is the leader of the TUV.