The recent demands of the government in London on the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit Treaty are practically impossible to fulfill, said Holger Hestermeyer, Professor of International Law and European Law at King’s College London, in an interview with the German Press agency on Tuesday clearly. According to the expert, the EU has “little room for maneuver in terms of legal negotiation”, which is known to both sides.
British Brexit Minister David Frost wanted to present London’s position in a speech in Lisbon on Tuesday – one day before the EU wants to present its solutions on Wednesday. Frost had already described the expected concessions of the European Commission as insufficient and demanded that the ECJ should no longer play a role. It is therefore speculated that London could have planned a collapse of the agreement. According to Hestermeyer and other experts, Brussels’ reaction to this could be drastic: with a termination of the free trade agreement between London and Brussels.
The Northern Ireland Protocol was the breakthrough in the dispute over the former civil war region during the exit negotiations. The agreement stipulates that the province will continue to follow the rules of the EU internal market and customs union. This is to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland. However, this will require controls between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland. This creates difficulties in intra-UK trade.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially hailed the Northern Ireland Protocol as a great success. The agreement paved the way for the Brexit agreement and a dreaded no-deal Brexit. In the meantime, the government in London is complaining more and more about the consequences of the protocol and wants to renegotiate.