Britain's Brexit negotiator warns of ‘cold mistrust’ with EU due to Protocol

ireland
Britain's Brexit Negotiator Warns Of ‘Cold Mistrust’ With Eu Due To Protocol
Britain's Brexit negotiator renewed calls on Saturday for Brussels to accept a ‘substantial and significant change’ to the deal.
Share this article

Sam Blewett, PA Deputy Political Editor

Britain;'s Brexit minister has said the UK will not sweep away the Northern Ireland Protocol as he warned conflict over the deal risks creating “cold mistrust” with the European Union.

Lord Frost renewed calls on Saturday for Brussels to accept a “substantial and significant change” to the deal.

Advertisement

The North is effectively kept in the EU’s single market for goods by the protocol, which prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland but has created trade barriers with Britain.

Brexit
Graffiti outside Carrickfergus (Brian Lawless/PA)

Unionists have pressured for the abolition of the protocol, but Brussels has repeatedly rejected the UK government’s plea to negotiate it.

Advertisement

Speaking at the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford, Lord Frost said: “The stakes are high. The arguments can be bitter.

“And I worry this process is capable of generating a sort of cold mistrust between us and the EU which could spread across the relationship.

“It’s holding back the potential for a new era of cooperation between like-minded states in a world which needs us to work together effectively.”

The Tory peer reiterated the UK’s position that the “threshold” for triggering Article 16 to effectively tear up parts of protocol has been met.

Advertisement

But he added: “Some would like us to sweep all the existing arrangements away. That is not our position.

“It is obvious there will always need to be a dedicated UK-EU treaty relationship covering Northern Ireland. It is a question of finding the right balance.”

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com