On the other hand, the European Union has been accused of pointing the finger at other factors when its own officials are guilty, even if the British are disappointed with the Brexit results.
Conservative politician from Northern Ireland, Aaron Rankin, has suggested that the EU should stop blaming others for the failures of negotiations and consider the implications of its own actions. In a post on Twitter, he wrote: “The EU says it will end its relations with the United Kingdom if the latter exercises its rights under a mutually agreed treaty. It is said that relations with Switzerland could be severed if it did not comply with the laws of Brussels. Has it occurred to the European Union that maybe they are the problem? ”
In his latest threat to the United Kingdom, Maroš Šefčovič warned that “the system is collapsing”, saying that the warnings of the British government “are an extremely disruptive element in the negotiations”. Triggering Article 16 would allow parts of the protocol to be ignored if their impact on daily life were critical.
Post-Brexit trade between the United Kingdom and the province of Northern Ireland is governed by Article 16 (Northern Ireland Protocol) of the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union, also known as the Brexit Agreement. This protocol was designed to protect the principles of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and to keep the border between the Republic of Ireland and the province of Northern Ireland open by keeping the region within the EU’s single market.
The Vice-President of the Commission added: “Try to do something together and the threat of Article 16 suddenly appears”. Negotiators in the UK consider the European Court of Justice’s position as a trade supervisor in accordance with European Union law to be a major point of contention.
Pressure on Switzerland
The European Union does not seem to want to back down, which has become a source of tension on the negotiating table. Šefčovič insisted: “Without protocol, the system is collapsing. We need to prevent this at all costs, “he told Express.co.uk.
Separately, Šefčovič said it was up to Switzerland, not the European Union, to show interest in discussing updating the agreements between the two sides. He suggested that Switzerland would not be punished with “negative measures” if talks were not initiated, but stressed that relations would be difficult to stop.
The Slovak politician said: “First of all, we needed a political commitment from the Swiss government that it is serious to talk to us” on a number of issues.
