Brexit back in crisis over Boris Johnson’s plan to override parts of exit deal
Loading player...
London — Britain's divorce from the European Union veered into a new crisis on Monday after London signalled it could undermine the exit agreement with Brussels unless free trade terms are agreed by October.
In yet another twist to the four-year saga since Britain voted to quit the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government was reported to be planning new legislation to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement it signed in January.
That could jeopardise the whole treaty and create frictions in British-ruled Northern Ireland, where special arrangements had been made to avoid a hard border with Ireland to the south that could be detrimental to the peace agreement.
Britain said it would honour the deal and was simply offering clarifications to avoid any future legal difficulties.
But the Financial Times newspaper cited three people as saying the proposed internal market bill was expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs.
EU diplomats were aghast, cautioning that such a step, leaked on the eve of new talks in London, would tarnish Britain's global prestige and heighten chances of a tumultuous final disentangling from the bloc on December 31.
Sterling fell against the dollar and euro.
'Reasonable steps'
Britain said it was committed to the divorce deal.
“We are taking limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity and to ensure the government is always able to deliver on its commitments,” a spokesperson for Johnson said.
It could not allow the peace process or the internal British market to inadvertently be compromised, he said.
Britain left the EU on January 31 but talks on a new trade deal before the end of a status-quo transition arrangement in December have snagged on state aid rules and fishing.
London has set a deadline of October 15 to strike a deal.
“If we can't agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free-trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on,” Johnson said on Monday.
Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Monday that talks on a Brexit deal needed to make progress this month and reach a conclusion quickly, Johnson's office said.
European diplomats said Britain was playing a game of Brexit chicken by threatening to collapse ...
In yet another twist to the four-year saga since Britain voted to quit the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government was reported to be planning new legislation to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement it signed in January.
That could jeopardise the whole treaty and create frictions in British-ruled Northern Ireland, where special arrangements had been made to avoid a hard border with Ireland to the south that could be detrimental to the peace agreement.
Britain said it would honour the deal and was simply offering clarifications to avoid any future legal difficulties.
But the Financial Times newspaper cited three people as saying the proposed internal market bill was expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs.
EU diplomats were aghast, cautioning that such a step, leaked on the eve of new talks in London, would tarnish Britain's global prestige and heighten chances of a tumultuous final disentangling from the bloc on December 31.
Sterling fell against the dollar and euro.
'Reasonable steps'
Britain said it was committed to the divorce deal.
“We are taking limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity and to ensure the government is always able to deliver on its commitments,” a spokesperson for Johnson said.
It could not allow the peace process or the internal British market to inadvertently be compromised, he said.
Britain left the EU on January 31 but talks on a new trade deal before the end of a status-quo transition arrangement in December have snagged on state aid rules and fishing.
London has set a deadline of October 15 to strike a deal.
“If we can't agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free-trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on,” Johnson said on Monday.
Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Monday that talks on a Brexit deal needed to make progress this month and reach a conclusion quickly, Johnson's office said.
European diplomats said Britain was playing a game of Brexit chicken by threatening to collapse ...