European Union urges UK to stop using 'political rhetoric' in Northern Ireland Brexit row

The European Union has urged the United Kingdom to stop using "political rhetoric" in the Brexit negotiations for Northern Ireland, announcing that it will offer "far-reaching proposals" to break the deadlock next week. Speaking at a conference in Dublin, Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president of the European Commission, claimed he had a good connection with David Frost, the UK's Brexit minister, but his threats to pull the plug on the Northern Ireland protocol were not very "helpful." He reaffirmed that the EU would finalise its response to the UK's requests for a substantial rewrite of the protocol by the middle of next week, and rigorous talks to find a solution would follow, reported The Guardian. 

"I believe the package of realistic solutions we are putting out will be appealing to the majority of stakeholders in Northern Ireland, and I hope they will support it," Šefčovič was quoted as saying by The Guardian. He also hoped that it would satisfy the demands of the unionist parties, who were adamantly opposed to the protocol. Šefčovič told the webinar at Ireland's Institute of International and European Affairs that the EU was attempting to give the best options that would answer the concerns of the unionist community. But he also stressed that simply because the UK requested it, the EU would not agree to redo the entire agreement. 

'EU would not negotiate the protocol as per UK's request'

The protocol was one the most difficult aspects of the withdrawal agreement to negotiate, and it took several years for "the greatest brains" on both sides to come up with a solution to the challenges presented by Brexit in Northern Ireland. Šefčovič stated that the EU would not negotiate the protocol as the UK had requested. For the past one month, the commission has been working on counter-proposals to Lord Frost's July command paper. Despite Šefčovič's refusal to provide specifics, they are likely to address the United Kingdom's concerns including medication supply between the UK and Northern Ireland, according to The Guardian. 

Šefčovič said the EU will utilise all treaty options to protect EU interests but if UK decides to disapply the protocol, there would be no hard borders. Frost stated, earlier this week, that he would consider the EU's proposals in good faith, but he would only give the talks three weeks before determining whether or not to invoke Article 16, the mechanism that allows portions of the protocol to be disapplied. He had also warned that the UK would retaliate strongly if the EU resorts to a "trade war" in the event of talks collapsing during the article 16 process, reported The Guardian. 

Image: AP