EU warns Boris Johnson's plan to tear up agreement risks 'peace' in Ireland and will result in no-deal

Prime minister told to stick to agreement, to ‘protect peace and stability on the island and integrity of the single market’

The EU has hit out at Boris Johnson’s plan to rip up key parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, warning it is a “prerequisite” for avoiding a no-deal outcome. 

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, warned the agreement – ratified by the UK last year – was “an obligation under international law”. 

The Northern Ireland protocol was also “essential to protect peace and stability on the island & integrity of the single market”,  she told the prime minister. 

The comment was the first evidence of EU disquiet over the prime minister’s shock move to override the legal agreements on using state aid and requiring customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea. The unilateral move came as Mr Johnson set a new 15 October deadline to seal a free trade agreement with Brussels or walk away with no deal.

Downing Street today insisted that the prime minister remains committed to the withdrawal agreement, claiming that the proposed unilateral UK action amounts to no more than a series of “clarifications” on how the protocol will operate from January.

Unless agreement is reached in the UK/EU Joint Committee on the application of the protocol, UK ministers will take on powers to:

- Determine which goods travelling from the British mainland to Northern Ireland are  deemed to be “at risk” of moving on to the EU.

- Determine whether state aid provided to a UK company by the government has an impact on Northern Irish firms with links to the company.

- Decide that Northern Irish companies need not complete customs documentation on goods being exported to the British mainland.

New powers for ministers will be included in a UK Internal Market Bill to be published on Wednesday, while other measures will be contained in the Finance Bill. The new legislation  despite the prime minister describing the deal he signed last year as “oven-ready”.

No 10 said that it was essential for the legislation to pass through parliament by the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December,  despite the prime minister having repeatedly describing the deal he signed last year as “oven-ready”.

Downing Street made clear that the EU had not been asked for its approval for the unilateral changes.

And the PM’s official spokesman could not confirm whether the UK would publish details of its plans for a new state aid regime ahead of the 15 October which Mr Johnson has set as a deadline for a free trade deal.

He also described a no-deal outcome – which would cause massive border disruption, risk a fresh recession and undermine security cooperation – as “a good outcome”. 

In a tweet, Ms von der Leyen warned: “I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law & prerequisite for any future partnership. Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island & integrity of the single market.”

A commission spokesman underlined the stance, saying: “The EU has made numerous constructive proposals to move the negotiations forward.

“While we are determined to reach an agreement with the UK, the EU will be ready in a no deal scenario to trade with the UK on WTO [World Trade Organisation] terms as of 1 January 2021.”

Opposition politicians have also warned a no-deal Brexit has moved significantly closer and that Mr Johnson is undermining the still-fragile peace in Northern Ireland. 

Colum Eastwood, the leader of the SDLP said: “It’s absolutely astonishing that any government who says they want to go and do trade deals around the world would just rip up an agreement that they made a few months ago with the European Union.”

And Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, tweeted ominously: “This would be a very unwise way to proceed.”

Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary, said: “It beggars belief that the government is – yet again – playing a dangerous game in Northern Ireland and sacrificing our international standing at the altar of the prime minister’s incompetence.”

Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: "We will continue to work with the EU in the Joint Committee to resolve outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"However, as a responsible government, we cannot allow the peace process or the UK’s internal market to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the protocol.

"The Northern Ireland Protocol was designed as a way of implementing the needs of our exit from the EU in a way that worked for Northern Ireland and in particular for maintaining the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the gains of the peace process, and the delicate balance between both communities’ interests.  It explicitly depends on the consent of the people of Northern Ireland for its continued existence.  As we implement the Northern Ireland Protocol this overriding need must be kept in mind.  

"It explicitly depends on the consent of the people of Northern Ireland for its continued existence.  As we implement the Northern Ireland protocol, this overriding need must be kept in mind.  

‘So we are taking limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity and to ensure the government is always able to deliver on its commitments to the people of Northern Ireland.

“These limited clarifications deliver on the commitments the government made in the general election manifesto, which said ‘We will ensure that Northern Ireland’s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the UK and that in the implementation of our Brexit deal, we maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal market.’ This was reiterated in the command paper published in May.”