Britain and the EU head towards a showdown over the Northern Ireland protocol
But it is possible to make some compromises without rewriting the withdrawal treaty
This week’s announcement by Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, of a proposed bill that would give the government powers to override the Northern Ireland protocol was not a surprise. In order to keep the province in the eu’s single market, the protocol imposes customs checks on goods moving across the Irish Sea. Threats to change it unilaterally, if negotiations with the bloc do not yield compromise, were heavily trailed. But it is still shocking that any British government is ready to renege on an international treaty. The claim by Ms Truss that the bill will be legal under international law is unconvincing even to many Tory mps.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Here we go again”
Britain May 21st 2022
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