Brexit: UK urges EU to consider immediate overhaul of Northern Ireland Protocol [View all]

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Source: CNBC

Brexit: UK urges EU to consider immediate overhaul of Northern Ireland Protocol

PUBLISHED WED, JUL 21 2021 6:45 AM EDT UPDATED WED, JUL 21 2021 10:54 AM ET
Elliot Smith
@ELLIOTSMITHCNBC

The U.K. has called for a complete overhaul of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key tenet of the Brexit agreements that Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with the European Union in 2019.

The British government’s Brexit minister, Lord Frost, told Parliament on Wednesday that the agreement needs drastic changes and urged the EU to renegotiate, arguing that “we cannot go on as we are” given the “febrile political climate” in the region.

The U.K. is seeking to eliminate most checks on goods traveling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In a call with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Tuesday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the way the protocol is currently operating in practice is causing “significant disruption” for the people of Northern Ireland.

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The preservation of frictionless trade between the two islands is central to the Good Friday Agreement, a historic truce which brought an end to three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland between Irish separatists and British loyalists.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/uk-to-reportedly-warn-eu-that-it-may-override-key-brexit-agreement-on-northern-ireland.html