Boris Johnson did not deliver on plan to protect EU market and sort out protocol

Last July the government issued a Command Paper on the way forward with the Northern Ireland protocol, and two of the paragraphs envisaged the passage of UK laws to protect the EU single market (‘Bring in penalties to deter exports from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland which evade EU standards,’ July 28 2021)

Of course the UK would not need the agreement of the Irish government or the EU to create such domestic laws, and in any case it is difficult to see why either should object to their passage.

If those new laws had actually been put in place there could now be a proven system of export controls to prevent non-compliant goods being taken across the border into the Republic.

Once that alternative control system had been demonstrated the EU would no longer have any reasonable grounds for complaint if the checks mandated by the protocol were discontinued.

Which preferably could be done by agreement with EU, with suitable amendments to the protocol, or otherwise through unilateral action taken by the UK under Article 16 of the protocol.

So why did Boris Johnson offer the prospect of these new UK laws to sort out the protocol, but then do nothing about them? Indeed, did he ever intend to do anything about them?

And is there still some hidden obstacle to stop him taking this long overdue action, maybe even including this legislation in the agenda soon to be announced in the Queen’s Speech?

Dr DR Cooper, Maidenhead Berkshire

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions

now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor