UK proposals for implementing Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland deserve detailed scrutiny. No doubt the Commission will soon oblige! Below = some first thoughts from me (moving from the general to the specific) pending more critical reading & cross-checking:
1) UK redefines purpose of Protocol in selective & self-serving manner. Apparently main purpose = to protect UK customs territory & UK internal market. Really? That only emerged under Johnson. Before, main purposes = to prevent hard border, safeguard peace & protect EU market
2) Moreover, UK provides own definition of what a “customs territory” actually means (as opposed to an “international border” apparently) – basically just making stuff up & then claiming that that’s the basis on which the Protocol *must* now be interpreted and applied. Oh really?
3) Not only is Protocol repurposed to prioritise UK-centred interests but its provisions are apparently to be interpreted according to new set of legal principles not agreed between the parties. Proportionate? ok. But flexible & pragmatic? Sounds more like "let us rewrite treaty"
4) New UK principles are partly justified because, apparently, Protocol is only provisional & might be gone in four years. Talk about rewriting not just texts, but also history! Only realistic way this Protocol dies = it's as awful as we feared; or there's a border poll + "yes"
5) And throughout UK document: nationalists simply don’t exist. Everything is "NI’s place in UK this", "NI’s place in UK that". All for the DUP. No recognition of nationalists and Irish-birthright citizens. Or that most of NI wanted to remain in EU and would vote that way again.
6) As for the details… UK promises unfettered access for NI goods to GB market, though at least recognises there are specific exceptions in Protocol. But what’s really lacking= crucial details on how to distinguish NI from Irish/EU/ROW goods in NI and control *their* entry to GB
7) As for trade GB to NI: UK proposals ignore fact Protocol is based on presumption that EU tariffs will apply, unless proven otherwise. & UK attempts unilaterally to rewrite the “unless” bit: goods “at risk” of entering EU market morph into "only clear/genuine/substantial" risk
8) In any case UK suggests some odd exceptions to the “at risk” rules, e.g. automatic exemptions for "perishable" goods / those "uneconomic" to divert to EU market - as if Ireland were not also part of the EU market / incapable of importing perishable goods / uneconomic to get to
9) UK several times suggests that, when applying EU customs rules & regulatory standards, it's obvious that goods from GB won’t pose same risk to Customs Union / Single Market as other third country goods. Well they would say that wouldn’t they. But it's now rather contestable...
10) Other oddities, eg UK still refuses permission for EU office in Belfast (totally unreasonable, as said elsewhere); eg boasts about NI benefiting from UK trade policy – one assumes only once they’ve replaced all the lost EU trade deals + compensated for rest of Single Market
11) But perhaps most telling line? It seems NI will be lucky enough not to have any more minimum EU standards on environmental, employment and consumer protection. Even better: it can join rest of UK in using newfound regulatory freedom to “boost our competitiveness”. Can't wait.
12) In short: UK proposals = selective & self-serving; attempt to impose unilateral interpretations & to rewrite key parts of text; are just as significant for what’s left out as for what they say; & there's not even pretence at being NI honest broker. Otherwise– they're great...
13) Two steps back: reinforces fear that Johnson signed Withdrawal Package with no real intention of respecting it. At very least: EU needs extra diligence to ensure UK abides by own treaty. More broadly: UK better watch it doesn't earn reputation as second rate Trump tribute act
