Brussels was warned by Liz Truss that she would rip up the Brexit agreement for Northern Ireland, unless Eurocrats remove European judges from having final say in any future trade disputes.
The Foreign Secretary said Britain’s position on the Northern Ireland protocol ‘has not changed’ after talks with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic.
‘We need goods to flow freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, end the role of the ECJ [European Court of Justice] as the final arbiter of disputes between us, and resolve other issues,’ she said.
‘If this does not happen, we remain prepared to trigger Article 16 safeguards to deal with the very real problems faced in Northern Ireland.’
After arriving at the Foreign Office wearing a blue fur coat and a face mask with the logo of The Beatles Story in Liverpool, her words were spoken.
The emergency Article 16 clause in the Northern Ireland protocol allows either Britain or the EU to suspend the trade rules for the province – but the other side could face punitive tariffs.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrives at the Foreign Office wearing a fur coat and blue face mask emblazoned with the logo for The Beatles Story exhibition in Liverpool
Last month, Mr Sefcovic threatened to start a trade war if Lord Frost (ex-Brexit minister) continued with his threat of abandoning the provincial’s divorce rules. Miss Truss took up the role of overseeing relations with Brussels after Lord Frost, the architect of last year’s trade deal, quit last week.
Some Eurocrats are cautiously hopeful that Britain will change its stance. In a leaked transcript of a meeting with MEPs on Monday, Mr Sefcovic, the EU’s Brexit chief, said he hoped Miss Truss’s role would lead to ‘a more constructive tone from the UK in the future’.
The former international trade secretary voted Remain in 2016 but has since become one of the loudest voices in the Government championing Boris Johnson’s vision of a post-Brexit global Britain.
The Foreign Secretary said Britain’s position on the Northern Ireland protocol ‘has not changed’ after talks with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (pictured)
Sources close to her said she would send ‘a clear message to the EU’.
‘The Foreign Secretary will definitely be no pushover. She’s tough as nails and an incredibly hard negotiator,’ said one ally. ‘She did dozens of trade deals as trade secretary, in record time, with people saying it was “impossible” when she got the job. She’ll fight hard for Great Britain.’
The row between Britain and Brussels has dragged on for months because Northern Ireland has effectively been left inside the EU’s single market.
On Saturday Lord Dodds, former deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said: ‘Every day that passes with the protocol in place is another day which sees Northern Ireland and Great Britain move further apart. This is unsustainable.’