EU protocol stance has ‘hardened’ over UK threat of unilateral action

European capitals have lost trust, says Irish minister – as Keir Starmer accuses PM of ’wrecking ball’ approach

The EU’s position on the row over Northern Ireland Protocol has “hardened” in the face of the UK vow to unilaterally scrap part of the agreement, the Irish government has warned.

Foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney urged Boris Johnson to stop the “rot” in Anglo-Irish relations and step back from his plan to introduce a bill to override parts of the post-Brexit deal.

“I’ve been to Finland to Sweden to Estonia to Latvia, and I’ve been speaking to many other EU foreign ministers, in many ways in the last number of weeks the EU position has hardened,” Mr Coveney said on Thursday.

The senior Irish minister said he did not think “a single capital across the EU and anybody in the European Commission believes the UK” was now serious about a negotiated solution.

“All of the signals are about unilateral action … and that has hardened the EU response to what they’re seeing coming out of London now,” he added. “So, we need to find a way to arrest this rot in relationships and instead to look to compromise.”

Mr Johnson’s government is expected to table its controversial bill early next week amid reports of a split within cabinet about how far-reaching the legislation should be.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is holding talks with Mr Coveney and Irish premier Micheal Martin in Dublin on Thursday to discuss the stand-off over checks and customs forms on goods moving between GB and NI.

Ahead of the meetings, Sir Keir accused Boris Johnson of taking a “wrecking ball” to UK relations with Ireland and the EU.

Sir Keir claimed the PM was too “distracted” by his own leadership woes to focus on the impasse. “I think that with flexibility on both sides, with good faith, statecraft, and trust around the negotiating table, we can deal with the remaining issues,” he said.

Starmer added: “My concern is that we have a prime minister who doesn’t have those attributes … He’s doing everything he can to save his own skin rather than focusing on the issue here.”

Keir Starmer meets Irish president Michael D Higgins in Dublin on Thursday (PA)

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is next week expected to introduce domestic legislation to override aspects of the protocol, jointly agreed by the UK and EU as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Ms Struss reportedly argued at cabinet that the legislation should be hardened, while chancellor Rishi Sunak and levelling up minister Michael Gove shared doubts and sought assurances about whether the plan would break international law.

Mr Coveney said it appeared that the UK government was unsure over what exactly to include in its bill next week.

“There were attempts, certainly, we think to harden up some of the language in the proposed legislation this week, which now seems to have been reversed again – we simply don’t know,” he said.

Downing Street has denied the government had failed to consult one of its senior legal advisers over plans to unilaterally scrap elements of the protocol.

No 10 rejected the claim that Sir James Eadie, the government’s independent barrister on major legal issues, had not been asked to give a view on whether the bill due to be tabled at would breach international law.

Addressing the issue in the Commons on Thursday, Foreign Office minister James Cleverly refused to directly say whether he was consulted on the plans – but insisted that the government remained “confident” that its proposals are legal.

Mr Johnson was warned he risks a Tory rebellion if new legislation fails to offer the “serious prospect” of restoring Stormont power-sharing arrangements and the Good Friday Agreement.

With the DUP holding out from any commitment to re-join the executive, Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said he would vote against the legislation should they fail to satisfy the criteria.