European Union member states have backed up the European Commission’s pursuit of legal action and infringement proceedings against Britain over its plan to break the Northern Ireland protocol.
French Europe minister Clément Beaune said there had been a “serene and confident” discussion between the 27 ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday, in response to “the recent provocative moves from the British government”.
“The protocol cannot be renegotiated,” he told journalists after the meeting concluded.
“We have to respect commitments entered into. And if that were not to be the case, which we would very much regret, we would be prepared to react. To continue discussing, but to bring in the infringement proceedings and the other measures which have been suspended,” Mr Beaune said. “We have full unity on this point.”
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The Europe ministers received an update from the commission’s vice president and Brexit point man, Maros Sefcovic, after the government of prime minister Boris Johnson introduced a Bill to parliament to override the deal reached with the EU in 2019.
He stressed that the EU hoped to resolve the matter through negotiations.
“There was a clear agreement from all the member states that this action is a violation of international law. Quite simply, this is unacceptable for us,” Mr Sefcovic said. “Nevertheless, our doors remain open to find a solution.”
The commission announced fresh legal proceedings against Britain last week, that can ultimately lead to fines.
Martin Klus, state secretary at the Slovakian ministry of foreign affairs, told journalists of his government’s “concern” over Britain’s “unilateral steps” on the Northern Ireland protocol.
He expressed support for the work of Mr Sefcovic and the principle of upholding “international law which is critically important or countries like Slovakia”.
Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said on arrival to the meeting that the protocol was working to the benefit of Northern Ireland.
“The British need to stick to the agreements that they’ve signed. We’re now seeing every day more and more benefits from the protocol,” Mr Byrne said.
“For those difficulties that have been caused in Northern Ireland, the European Commission and Maros Sefcovic have shown ourselves to be extremely generous in trying to solve those problems but we need the British to work with us to make sure that that can happen.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney mentioned the issue in a speech in Strasbourg to the Council of Europe, where Ireland currently holds the presidency. He also criticised the British government’s plans to introduce an amnesty process for killings committed during the Troubles, which was challenged by the intergovernmental body earlier this month.
Potential damage to the Belfast Agreement was at the heart of Ireland’s “concern at the unilateral actions and legislation of the UK Government in recent weeks, on both legacy and also to disapply elements of an international treaty, which has a deep and difficult implication for Ireland”.
“We dare not imperil it,” he said.
Asked if a compromise could be found with Britain, Mr Coveney said it was “really unfortunate that we have to talk about this issue at all, given the scale of the other challenges that that we face on this continent right now”.
“Can these issues be solved through negotiation? I believe they can. And if negotiation doesn’t succeed, then I think we’re in a very difficult space because this problem doesn’t go away,” he said.
“If you remove elements of international law that were agreed and put in place for good reason to solve problems, then you reopen those problems. And that’s where this will go.”
