British Ambassador: Northern Ireland protocol must be altered

The ambassador insisted that renegotiating the protocol is "not an unprecedented ask".

Fri, 20 May, 2022 - 18:14

Aoife Moore, Political Correspondent

Britain's Ambassador to Ireland says that “times have changed” and the Northern Ireland protocol must be altered.

Paul Johnston said on Friday that he accepted that it was a “significant ask” that Britain wants to renegotiate the international treaty, but it is not “unprecedented”.

The Stormont Assembly remains suspended as talks around the protocol continue and the DUP refuse to nominate a deputy first minister over their concerns about the agreement, which has created economic barriers on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland.

“We recognise it's a significant ask because what we're asking to do is to reopen aspects of the protocol,” Mr Johnston said.

“It [the withdrawal agreement] had to be done with an ignorance of what the content and nature of a trade and cooperation agreement might be. And therefore, I think that is why we now are where we are, things have intervened in the period since it was agreed."

The ambassador insisted that renegotiating the protocol is "not an unprecedented ask. It's not unknown for treaties or agreements to be revised. I think the thing that perplexes us is the sort of principal refusal to contemplate reopening the protocol, even if both sides agreed that that was desirable and necessary.

“Now at the minute, they don't, but unless we discuss more intensively the areas that need addressing then you don't get past the binary of simply you can't open it. You simply have to open it to get past where we appear to be at the moment.”

The Ambassador said the British government would much rather the executive was up and running and should be done in parallel with ongoing UK/EU negotiations. Mr Johnston also acknowledged that the majority of Stormont’s MLAs support the protocol.

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“It’s certainly the case that there's no majority community (in Northern Ireland), and 53 of the 90 MLAs, I would say broadly support the protocol,” he said.

“I think if anyone was offered the prospect of a protocol that was less onerous for businesses and individuals, more flexible, more proportionate. I'd be surprised if someone said no. I think the divide is between those who say the protocol needs to be changed, and those who say the protocol just needs sort of adjustment in terms of implementation.

"But the fact is, the way the Good Friday Agreement works is you need both of the big communities to consent to the formation of the power-sharing and one of those communities has been elected effectively or mandated, demanding significant change to the protocol for reasons of identity and connectivity with Great Britain, and all the rest of it.

Mr Johnston went on to say: “And we don't want to see a prolonged situation without the devolved government, operating properly in Northern Ireland because people deserve to have that. So I think that's the sort of challenge we face and that's the dilemma we face.

“The difference that we have now is that it's not simply an issue between the two parties on a level playing field both being inside the EU single market, we now have a third country and the European Union. So that's the EU/UK dynamic in the sort of the Northern Ireland situation. And that means what we have to do is we have to seek an agreement with the EU in order to unlock this.”