Brexit news latest – Boris Johnson says he’ll consider triggering Article 16 of NI protocol in bid to avoid hard border

PM ‘WILLING TO OVERRIDE PART OF NI PROTOCOL’

The Prime Minister has said he is willing to override part of the Northern Ireland Protocol to ensure that there is no post-Brexit trade barrier down the Irish Sea.

DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley said his constituents had been made to feel like foreigners in their own country.

Urgent action from the European Union is needed to resolve the problems, Boris Johnson acknowledged.

The agreement on post-Brexit trade to keep the Irish land border open has caused disruption to goods travelling from the rest of the UK but progress has been made in recent weeks.

Mr Johnson said: “We will do everything we need to do, whether legislatively or indeed by triggering Article 16 of the protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea.”

Article 16 is part of the post-Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland following the EU’s customs rules.

PERMANENT SOLUTIONS NEEDED TO NI PROTOCOL TO ENSURE UNFETTERED ACCESS: DUP

The DUP has said permanent solutions are needed to the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol to ensure the region has “unfettered access” to the UK market.

Jeffrey Donaldson said the protocol was damaging the relationship between Britain and Northern Ireland.

He made the comments following crunch talks on the protocol between Northern Ireland’s leaders and the UK and EU.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic held a virtual meeting with First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill on Wednesday evening.

Mr Donaldson described the trade difficulties as not just short term, but long term.

“That’s why we need not just a short-term fix or tinkering around the edges of this or kicking the can down the road,” he told RTE News.

CONTINUED

In the Commons at Prime Ministers’ Questions, Mr Johnson suggested that he could respond in kind if there was no resolution to the issue of goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

“We will do everything we need to do, whether legislatively or indeed by triggering Article 16 of the protocol, to ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea,” he told MPs.

Mr Sefcovic and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove later held a half-hour virtual meeting with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill to discuss the situation.

Afterwards, the commission vice president said that he believed the issues could be raised if all aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol were implemented.

“I really think if all that flexibilities we put on the table and into the protocol would be used to the maximum that all of the issues that we’re discussing today would be really resolved,” he told RTE News.

“We should really study how things would look like if the UK would really use and put in practice the flexibilities we agreed upon on December 17.”

JOHNSON WARNS HE COULD OVERRIDE BREXIT DEAL ON NORTHERN IRELAND

Boris Johnson has warned he is ready to override elements of the Brexit divorce settlement relating to Northern Ireland to prevent a trade barrier developing in the Irish Sea.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic is due to travel to the UK for talks on next week amid a deepening row between London and Brussels.

It comes amid growing concern that measures in the Withdrawal Agreement intended to keep open the land border with the Republic are disrupting trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

A fraught situation was further exacerbated last week when the commission briefly used Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to close the border to exports of the coronavirus vaccine from the Republic.

PERMANENT SOLUTIONS ARE NEEDED, SAYS DUP’S JEFFREY DONALDSON

The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson said permanent solutions were needed to the trade issues.

“These difficulties are not just short-term, they are long term,” he said.

“That’s why we need not just a short-term fix or tinkering around the edges of this or kicking the can down the road.

“We need a permanent solution that will ensure that we continue to have unfettered access to the UK market and that the EU is able to protect its market, and we need that accommodation reached as soon as possible.”

Mr Donaldson also said the protocol is “damaging the relationship between Britain and Northern Ireland”.

“If we’re going to see the East-West, Great Britain-Northern Ireland relationship diminished then we can’t be expected to see a situation where there are normal North-South relationships because the two are inter-twined – one impacts on the other,” he said.

EU VP TO TRAVEL TO LONDON NEXT WEEK

The European Commission vice president is set to travel to London next week to discuss the trade issues that have emerged between Britain and Northern Ireland post-Brexit.

Maros Sefcovic and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove held a half-hour virtual meeting with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill on Wednesday evening.

HOW HAS BREXIT AFFECTED ONLINE SHOPPING?

UK customers have been felt the Brexit blows when online shopping. But what has changed post-Brexit?

• VAT or sales tax: before Brexit VAT would be charged at the rate set by the country you purchased your item from. Now UK VAT applies to all purchases from the EU.
• Small sellers: small businesses who were previously too small to charge local VAT, now have UK VAT charged automatically by online marketplaces.
• Delays: many consumers are noticing delays in delivery times, in what was previously an efficient point of purchase.
• Extra costs: Some online retailers have added extra charges on orders to cover the costs of paperwork – some have stopped selling to UK customers completely.

Piles of second hand goods stuck in a warehouse in North Shields due to harsh post-Brexit rules.

DUP MEMBER URGES PM TO “BE THE UNIONIST WE NEED HIM TO BE”

A member of the DUP has urged PM Boris Johnson to be “the unionist we need him to be” regarding concerns over the Irish Sea border.

MP Ian Paisley said the Northern Ireland Protocol had made them “feel like foreigners in our own country”.

He called on the government to take action, saying “tea and sympathy would not cut the mustard”.

Unionists opposed the protocol after arguing it poses a threat to UK unity and damages trade.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster has revealed plans to stop north to south activities related to the protocol until Boris Johnson fulfils his promise of doing “everything we need to do”.

BUSINESS SECRETARY OUTLINES RULES TODAY

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will outline the rules on government subsidies in the UK post-Brexit.

The new set of rules, which displace the EU’s regime, will allow “local authorities, public bodies and the devolved administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast will be empowered to decide if they can issue taxpayer subsidies by following a set of UK-wide principles”.

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department said this will be “more flexible, agile and tailored to support business growth”.

The post-Brexit trade deal permitted the UK to set its own state aid regime yet EU countries are able to challenge subsidy decisions if they violate the “common principles” agreed upon.

EU CITIZEN DETAINED AND DEPORTED FOR FIRST TIME UNDER NEW IMMIGRATION RULES

A Greek citizen was reportedly detained for seven days at an immigration detention centre outside Heathrow Airports in the latest of post-Brexit blunders.

It is the first occasion since the UK left the European Union that a EU member state citizen has been detained and deported under the new immigration regime.

Sotiris Konstantakos was allegedly locked in a room without heating for up twelve hours a day, after the 26-year-old was suspected of seeking employment during his trip to visit his girlfriend.

He told border officers he was under instruction from his friends Konstantakos told TA NEA: “”I am shocked. “I do not know if I will be able to recover from the nightmare I lived.”

“Some of my friends had advised me to tell the airport authorities that I was coming to find a job, on the grounds that if I said I was here for tourism they would not let me in because of the lockdown.”

CHINA AND EU SET TO AGREE ON INVESTMENT DEAL TODAY

A highly-anticipated deal is set to be struck between China and the EU, after they appeared to solve their differences over protecting labour rights in China.

The agreement today will make the economies of both more interdependent, after talks focused on opening up Chinese markets, such as electric vehicles and private hospitals, for European investors.

The EU have addressed Chinese practices such as industrial subsidies, forced technology transfers and the state control exerted over enterprises.

China is the second largest trading partner with the EU, just behind the US – who are unhappy with the deal and originally demanded to be consulted before anything went ahead.

KEIR STARMER AND BORIS JOHNSON HAVE “HEATED” CLASH OVER EU VACCINE AFTER PMQS

Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Boris Johnson exchanged a “heated” moment after today’s PMQs over the EU vaccine.

Mr Johnson said Sir Keir had repeatedly suggested the UK stay in the European Medicines Agency and believes this move would have hampered the UK’s coronavirus response.

But Sir Keir dismissed the remarks as “complete nonsense”, suggesting the “truth escapes” the PM.

A Labour MP allegedly had to intervene after the vocal sparring session continued after the Commons session ended.

MICHAEL GOVE SENDS EU A LETTER ASKING FOR “POLITICAL” SOLUTIONS

Micheal Gove wrote wrote to the EU asking to extend and expand waivers on the movement of certain goods from Britain into Northern Ireland.

Michael Gove, who is in charge of negotiating the rules around Northern Ireland, said in a letter to his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic: “What is now required is political, not technical, solutions.

“The arrangements that currently apply to supermarkets and their suppliers must be extended until at least 1 January 2023. The eligibility for these arrangements must also be adapted so that all relevant local businesses and services are able to be included as authorised traders.”

The grace period is due to expire at the end of March.

NEW FERRY ROUTE BYPASSES UK AS BREXIT RULES TOO COMPLICATED

A French ferry company, ‘Brittany Ferries’ has announced a range of new post-Brexit routes that bypass the UK.

Normally, lorries travelling between Ireland and France would most likely transit via the UK using a ferry service across the Irish Sea and the English Channel.

However, post-Brexit rules of increased customs checks and piles of paperwork have discouraged foreign hauliers from using the route.

From February 4, Brittany Ferries will offer 12 hauliers sailings a week, with eight of those taking direct trips between Ireland and France.

GOVERNMENT ASKS EU TO EXTEND BREXIT GRACE PERIOD

The government has urged the EU to extend the Brexit “grace period” to 2023 to calm the border chaos.

BBC Political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Cabinet Office Secretary Michael Gove had written to the European Commission’s vice president, Maros Sefcovic as a matter of urgency.

The UK and the EU originally agreed a three-month grace period on checks on food goods, to minimise the impact of post-Brexit rules.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been forced to call for urgent action from the EU to resolve implementation issues of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

A meeting today is being held amongst British, EU and Northern Irish leaders to discuss Brexit trade issues between Britain and Northern Ireland.

BREXIT BORDER TROUBLES GRIND SECOND-HAND TRADING TO A HALT

Brexit is battering second-hand traders with border delays, paperwork and unclear post-Brexit rules, costing charities thousands of pounds in lost donations A WEEK.

Mountains of second-hand clothes, toys and furniture are stuck in warehouses and containers as deliveries have been halted.

ECS Textiles in North Shields usually send five 20 tonne containers by sea to Latvia each week to resell second-hand goods in eastern Europe – but are now left with a mounting pile of stock crowding their premises.

One container stuck in the port of Riga is racking up charges and has been threatened with import tariffs that are typically added on Chinese goods, which has “ground the business to a halt”.

Sales manager at ECS Textile James Officer explained: “We’re at capacity. It could essentially close the business because we have no more physical room and it’s a really big worry.

ANIMAL BORDER INSPECTION FOR POST BREXIT NOT BUILT AFTER LACK OF GOVERNMENT FUNDING

British cattle and horse-breeding businesses are in turmoil after a government move to cut funding stopped the building of a Brexit inspection post for livestock at Portsmouth harbour.

The local port, council and MP claimed the local authority, which owns the port, has been lumbered with a £7 million shortfall for the facility.

Portsmouth City Council said the lack of government funding means they cannot afford to build the facility.

Government border health checks come into force after July 1, which would have made it a necessary facility to continue and improve the import and exports of live animals to the UK.

The government said the breeding sector was not entirely dependent on Portsmouth.

BRITS FACE LIVE SEAFOOD SALE BAN POST-BREXIT

Brit fishermen are banned from selling live mussels, oysters, clams, cockles and scallops to EU member states indefinitely.

Post-Brexit, the UK is no longer allowed to transport the seafood into the EU unless they are pre-treated in purification plants – but there isn’t enough room.

In 2019, UK shellfish catches were valued at a massive £393 million.

The industry says it doesn’t have enough tanks ready and the purification process slows exports, making the sales less financially viable.

The UK government promised to “raise the issue” with the EU.

ASTRAZENECA JAB ONLY FOR UNDER 65s IN FRANCE

The French health authority has said the AstraZeneca covid vaccine should only be administered to people aged under 65.

The country cited insufficient data on its effectiveness on older people, despite the EU drugs regulator approving the jab for all adults.

Member states each decide their own rollout policy, and France follows Germany and Austria limiting the vaccine to under 65s.

EU countries have been hit by long delays for deliveries of the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and other brands of the vaccine, sparking chaos.

The European Commission was embroiled in a row with AstraZeneca last week after the company said it could not supply the expected doses on time.

Scottish National Party MP Drew Hendry took to Twitter to slam Michael Gove’s interview on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland.

He wrote: “Michael Gove, on #bbcgms yet again, utterly collapsing when having to answer real questions (not being asked elsewhere) from Gary on the UKgov spin over Vaccines, the Covid outbreak at PMs visit centre and Brexit failures. Worth listening to again.”

It seems his fury has been fuelled by PM Boris Johnson visiting a biotech lab in Scotland that had earlier found 14 positive coronavirus cases.

OUT OF OFFICE HOURS RULES BROUGHT TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The European Parliament has backed a proposal for employees to have legal rights to switch off from work-related tasks and electronic communication outside of office hours, without any consequences.

A majority, 472 representatives, backed a non-binding call to urge the European Commission to bring in new rules that explicitly state workers rights in EU law.

If the Commission agrees, the new rules could take a few years to enforce – but it is more important than ever to get the ball rolling when millions of people are now working from home.

BRITAIN AND BRUSSELS CRISIS TALKS

Boris Johnson has demanded Brussels take urgent action to resolve implementation issues of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It comes after the post-Brexit border plan was questioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week.

Following the withdrawal of personnel from manned trade checkpoints at Larne and Belfast ports over safety fears, the Prime Minister assured the Northern Ireland’s place within the UK will be “protected and strengthened.”

Mr Johnson said: “Our commitment to the people of Northern Ireland and our Union is unshakeable. Recent EU moves have undermined the Protocol and understandably provoked concern.

“Let me underline that, now and in the future, Northern Ireland’s place in the UK will be protected and strengthened.”

INDEPENDENCE DOESN’T COME CHEAP

Independence from the UK would cost Scotland’s economy much more than Brexit will, a study by the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance has found.

The analysis shows it would cost Scotland up to three times as much in lost trade as Brexit will, amid another push for a second referendum by the SNP.

The latest report will pile the pressure on the SNP to justify the desire for independence, as they have frequently critiqued the UK governments Brexit negotiations.

The study found Scotland’s longterm income per capita will decrease by 2.0 per cent and income would be cut by a further 4.6-6.7 per cent, even if Scotland stay in the Common Market.

Co-author of the analysis and assistant professor at Hong Kong’s City University, Hanwei Huang, said: “This analysis shows that, at least from a trade perspective, independence would leave Scotland considerably poorer than staying in the United Kingdom.”

BREXIT COULD SEE BEES BURNED

A beekeeper who wants to bring 15 million Italian bees into the UK has been told they could be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws.

Patrick Murfet, the managing director of Bee Equipment, wants to import the baby Italian bees for his business based in Kent, and to help farmers pollinate crucial crops.

However after leaving the single market, UK residents face a number of new laws which result in foreign bee imports being banned.

After Brexit, only queen bees can be imported into the UK rather than colonies and packages of bees.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was aware of the issue and is working with parties involved to find a solution.