Downing St: Article 16 still not ruled out

The UK “reserves the right” to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol but No 10 stressed that was not the current approach being taken.
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Confirming Liz Truss will make a statement later today, the prime minister’s official spokesman was asked yesterday why it was said to be looking at domestic legislation when the protocol contained the ability to unilaterally suspend the Brexit treaty.

The No 10 official replied: “We are getting slightly ahead of what the foreign secretary will say tomorrow when she will set out any rationale for our approach.”

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Asked why the government was not considering using Article 16, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “We still reserve the right to use Article 16.

Foreign Secretary Liz TrussForeign Secretary Liz Truss
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss

“And indeed we believe the conditions have been met to use it but our focus is how we best protect peace and democracy in Northern Ireland – that will be our guiding principle for any further actions we may choose to take.”

The spokesman added: “We have always sought to deal with this issue in a calm manner.

“That’s always been the approach we’ve taken when having negotiations with the EU or individual countries.

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“That’s a view shared by both the prime minister and the foreign secretary.

“We believe there is a sensible landing, as the prime minister said over the weekend, in which everyone’s interests are protected and we will keep that in mind as we set out next steps.”

Asked whether Brussels needed to “change its mandate”, the Downing Street official said: “What we are clear about is the mandate given to (European Commission vice-president) Maros Sefcovic does not allow him to make the changes that we think are wholly necessary to protect peace and democracy in Northern Ireland.”

The PM’s official spokesman also said the protocol can be “superseded” by future negotiations between the UK and Brussels,

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The Downing Street spokesman said: “We believe the protocol, as drafted, allows for further negotiations, improvements and enhancements to be made, to facilitate properly, to work properly for the long term.

“We want significant changes to how the protocol is being enforced.”