Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

UK Shares New Post-Brexit Trade Plan For North Ireland With European Union

UK Shares New Post-Brexit Trade Plan For North Ireland With European Union

The legal proposal, dispatched on the eve of the European Union setting out its own plans, comes amid vehement opposition to the so-called Northern Ireland protocol from some in the British province.

Britain on Tuesday said it sent the EU a new legal text to overhaul fractious post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, and renewed threats to abandon the current deal.

The legal proposal, dispatched on the eve of the European Union setting out its own plans, comes amid vehement opposition to the so-called Northern Ireland protocol from some in the British province.

It follows months of demands by London for the pact to be revised to change the rules around internal UK trade and the arbitration mechanisms governing it.

In a speech in Lisbon, Brexit minister David Frost argued the new text worked "with the grain" of the existing deal, but would "deliver significant change" and put it on a "durable footing".

"Without new arrangements in this area, no protocol will ever have the support across Northern Ireland it needs to survive," he said, reiterating warnings London could trigger a clause scrapping the agreement.

"We would not go down this road gratuitously or with any particular pleasure," he said.

"It is our fundamental responsibility to safeguard peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, and that is why we cannot rest until the situation has been addressed."

Britain voted to leave the EU in a landmark referendum in 2016. When it eventually departed from its rules and regulations at the start of 2021, the Northern Ireland protocol came into effect.

It has kept the British-ruled province inside elements of the EU customs union and single market in order to prevent a hard border with EU member Ireland.

The border was a former flashpoint in the sectarian conflict over British rule between pro-UK unionists and pro-Ireland nationalists, which wound down in 1998.

'No appetite'


However, the protocol has required new checkpoints at ports in the region to stop the risk of goods from England, Scotland and Wales getting into the EU by the back door.

Pro-UK unionists in Northern Ireland say it has created a border in the Irish Sea that undermines the province's place in the wider UK, and strengthens pro-Irish republicans' case for a united Ireland.

Frost denied Britain had agreed the protocol in December 2019 in bad faith without intending to implement it, insisting that it took "a risk" and blamed Brussels for its implementation.

His proposed changes include allowing goods to circulate virtually freely between Northern Ireland and the rest of mainland Britain and removing the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the scheme's ultimate arbiter.

"For the EU now to say that the protocol -- drawn up in extreme haste in a time of great uncertainty -- can never be improved upon, when it is so self-evidently causing such significant problems, would be a historic misjudgement," he warned.

His remarks came as the European Commission was poised to unveil its own plans Wednesday to accommodate British misgivings, with the mood in Brussels increasingly frustrated.

"There is no appetite among the member states to be strung along by Britain," an EU diplomat told AFP on Monday.

"The window for dialogue is closing and it's not good that even before the EU makes its proposal it is refused.

"This proposal will be as far as the EU can take it."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×