London and the European Union (EU) reached an agreement on Wednesday, June 30, over what the British tabloids called the “Sausage war”. Concluded following strong tensions between London and Brussels on the subject, this agreement will allow Great Britain to continue shipping chilled meat, such as English sausages, to Northern Ireland until the end of September – which would have been prohibited from 1er July if no agreement had been reached.
“We are delighted that we were able to achieve a reasonable extension for chilled meat sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland”, wrote the Secretary of State for Brexit, David Frost, in a communicated. “This is a positive first step, but we still have to find a permanent solution”, because “Northern Ireland is an integral part of the UK and its consumers should be able to enjoy products bought in Britain for years to come”.
For its part, the EU insisted that this agreement was “Temporary” and was accompanied by “Strong conditions”. “We do not give a blank check”, warned the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic.
Persistent tension
Difficult to negotiate as part of the Brexit agreement and effective since 1er January, the Northern Irish Protocol de facto maintains the British province in the European single market and customs union for goods, by providing for customs controls on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the island of Great Brittany.
The tensions between London and Brussels mainly concerned the entry into force, initially scheduled for Thursday, of measures preventing the shipment of minced or prepared meat from Great Britain, as is the case for countries not belonging to the EU.
Brussels accused London of not respecting the commitments made, the British criticized the Europeans for being too “Purists” in the application of the rules.
The objective of the protocol is to prevent checks from taking place between the province and the Republic of Ireland, to the south, and thus prevent the reestablishment of a hard border between the two territories which could compromise the peace in Northern Ireland. , after three decades of violence.