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It seems nobody wants to say that the situation in Great Britain to Northern Ireland is a consequence of the choices made by the UK government - and that is only going to grow as a problem. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/01/northern-ireland-port-staff-removed-urgently-due-to-safety-concerns
Sorry @anandMenon1 but this is simply some way short of the full story. The UK were not willing to make the commitments made by New Zealand on animal exports to preserve our regulatory independence / prospects of a US trade deal. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/02/vaccine-rows-spats-eu-uk-competitor
The UK government were told repeatedly that the greater the divergence from the EU, the greater the regulatory independence, the greater the barriers to trade between Britain and Northern Ireland. They chose to ignore that. It is still not admitted. How is this the EU's fault?
These are deals the UK government signed, that have put Northern Ireland in a unique place in the UK, EU, and global trade. It can be manageable. But not as part of a blame game directed towards the EU. That is a recipe for trouble. http://crossborder.ie/northern-irelands-triple-treaty-trade-ambiguity/
And yes, the EU screwed up last Friday on vaccines and Northern Ireland. But they reversed very quickly. The UK government has consistently denied the impact of their choices on checks of goods to Northern Ireland. Start your search for causes of problems there, and only there.
PS for those who want to check the conditions attached to lower checks on food products, here's the EU-New Zealand treaty. Tables of equivalent regulation. Ask the question why the UK was unwilling to meet this precedent. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A21997A0226%2802%29
PPS serious concern that the UK government may hope that denying their role in choosing checks in Northern Ireland will force EU to back down over the whole protocol. This is - literally - playing with fire. But sure, make it all about the EU...
You have to admit a problem to have flexible solutions. The UK government won't (the EU are not blameless, but the UK denial is no basis for creativity). https://twitter.com/anconablue/status/1356522475149012992
Worrying. But unfortunately not surprising. Urgent need for work on an agreed narrative on the Northern Ireland protocol that is minimally distorted by Westminster Brexit politics. This is a problem across communities. @antsoares67 https://twitter.com/julianoneill/status/1356534693471076354
Also. Fear Westminster has sleepwalked into another Northern Ireland crisis.
This is primarily the direct consequence of the pure Brexit sought by the UK government. Who ignored the many warnings. https://twitter.com/acatherwoodnews/status/1356524901755195393
This is primarily the direct consequence of the pure Brexit sought by the UK government. Who ignored the many warnings. https://twitter.com/acatherwoodnews/status/1356524901755195393
Also worth remembering: Not one Northern Irish MP voted in support of either the Withdrawal Agreement or the UK-EU trade deal.
The voice of the English anti-EU obsessive with no interest in Northern Ireland peace. It is the EU's Withdrawal Agreement. Not something agreed by the Prime Minister and voted for by the Conservative Party breaking promises to the DUP. https://twitter.com/hiltonholloway/status/1356542795096469507
Could do with updating this for the new situation, but I feel it broadly works even with the new agreement. In particular the need for careful navigation, good faith, and avoidance of overt legalism with regard to Northern Ireland. http://crossborder.ie/northern-irelands-triple-treaty-trade-ambiguity/
It is worth remembering that trade consists of goods and services. New goods barriers in place between Northern Ireland and Great Britain are matched by new services barriers in place between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Hence why this is a cross community issue.
But to repeat again - you cannot resolve the implementation problems of the Northern Ireland protocol if you deny their existence. That might play well in London. But it is dangerous in Northern Ireland. As we see.
Fine, but is it not possible for us to discuss them first? Evidently not, but not a great way to proceed. https://twitter.com/JP_Biz/status/1356585547171590145
Similar point. https://twitter.com/antsoares67/status/1356585454108352513
Brexit upset the delicate balances and we've been trying to find a solution. The backstop would have protected them better but... https://twitter.com/lisaocarroll/status/1356587837055991812
More like it (think @Simon4NDorset does a good job as chair of the Northern Ireland select committee) https://twitter.com/lisaocarroll/status/1356586089029451776
