EU warns against watering down Brexit border commitments

The European Union, EU, warned the United Kingdom government on Monday that any attempt to renege on commitments made ahead of its departure from the bloc earlier this year could put at risk the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland.

The comments show growing signs that trust between the two sides is evaporating ahead of another round of Brexit trade talks today, Tuesday, in London. Britain left the bloc on January 31 but the two sides are in a transition period that ends at the end of this year and are negotiating their future trade ties.

The 27-nation bloc said any attempt by the UK’s Conservative government to unilaterally ride roughshod over its divorce agreement with the EU could also jeopardise the prospects for a trade deal.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU’s Executive Commission, said she expects British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to implement the withdrawal agreement that paved the way for the UK’s smooth departure from the bloc. She said in a tweet that the agreement is an “obligation under international law” and a “prerequisite for any future partnership”.

She added that the section in the agreement that ensures an open border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and EU member Ireland, is “essential to protect peace and stability on the island”.

Her comments followed a report in the Financial Times newspaper that the British government is planning domestic legislation that would effectively override the international treaty obligations enshrined in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, particularly over issues related to the Irish border.

Johnson has said Britain could walk away from the talks within weeks and insists that a no-deal exit would be a “good outcome for the UK”. He said in a statement that any agreement must be sealed by an EU summit, scheduled for October 15.

The EU has previously said negotiations must conclude before the end of October.

Monday’s developments prompted widespread selling of the British pound as traders priced in a growing likelihood that the trade talks could be heading for collapse. The pound was down 0.9 per cent against both the dollar and the euro.

During this transition period, the UK remains within the EU’s economic orbit, benefiting from frictionless and tariff-free trade. But British businesses are worried about the uncertainty of what happens to their trading ties with their biggest market beginning January 1.

The EU’s chief negotiator in the talks, Michel Barnier, said Monday that he will be seeking clarification from David Frost, his counterpart in the UK, on Tuesday “to better understand the government’s intentions”.

“This protocol is a condition for preserving peace and for protecting the integrity of the single market,” Barnier told French radio France Inter. “It’s also a precondition for confidence between us, because everything that has been signed in the past must be respected.”

The trade discussions have made very little progress over the summer, with the two sides seemingly wide apart on several issues, notably on business regulations, the extent to which the UK can support certain industries, and over the EU’s fishing-rights access to British waters.

The German government said a deal was still possible and that it’s in the interest of both sides to secure one.

AP