“She pointed out that the current situation was causing unacceptable disruption to trade and had created a two-tier system whereby people in Northern Ireland were not treated in the same way as everyone else in the UK,” a spokesperson said. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Foreign Secretary reiterated that the UK’s proposals to fix the Protocol…would ensure the removal of trade barriers between Britain and Northern Ireland while protecting the EU’s single market.
“The Foreign Secretary outlined why the EU proposals would set us back, by creating more checks and paperwork.
“Vice President Šefčovič confirmed that there was no room to expand the EU’s negotiating mandate or come up with new proposals to reduce the overall level of trade friction.
“The Foreign Secretary took note of this with regret and said that the situation in Northern Ireland is a matter of internal peace and security for the UK, and if the EU does not show the necessary flexibility to help resolve those issues, then, as a responsible government, it would have no choice but to act.”
A Whitehall source told The Telegraph: “Liz stood her ground on the call and pointed out that if the EU really cares about peace, stability and the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, they can surely show more flexibility.
“International treaties change all the time, why can’t parts of the Protocol change?”
‘Green and Red Lanes’
Britain has proposed a system of green and red lanes to minimize the number of checks required on goods traveling from Britain to Northern Ireland.
Under the plan, products destined for the province would undergo minimal customs controls, easing the paperwork burden on businesses.
Only those consignments deemed high risk of moving into the Republic of Ireland would have to undergo the full range of EU checks.
Brussels is open to the idea, but the two sides cannot agree on how to classify which goods fall into the green or red lane.
The UK has accused Eurocrats of taking an overly cautious approach in which shipments can be lightly checked, creating an unbearable burden on businesses.
Northern Ireland Minister Conor Burns said this means companies shipping food from Britain to Ulster need to obtain veterinary certificates for boxes of shortbread.
“When it gets to the point where a container of goods for Sainsbury’s requires the same level of checks, when there are no Sainsbury’s supermarkets in the Republic of Ireland as goods going to the Republic of Ireland, something goes wrong,” he said.
Sacha Berendji, managing director of Marks and Spencer on the island of Ireland, said shipments now take 24 hours longer than before to process “which has clearly had a shelf life for our customers” in Northern Ireland.
The Telegraph understands that a decision on whether to introduce legislation to override the Protocol could be made as soon as Monday.
If the government does, the EU has vowed to respond quickly by renewing legal action against the UK and potentially even ripping up the trade deal.
Reference-www.telegraph.co.uk