Today, Monday, June 27, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will address Parliament, stating that new legislation will resolve issues brought on by several provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol and support the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
The Government’s Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which proposes improvements in four crucial areas—burdensome customs procedures, rigid regulation, tax and spend inconsistencies, and problems with democratic governance—will be discussed in Parliament during today’s second reading.
Parts of the Protocol will alter as a result, but the remainder will remain unchanged.
To secure the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, avoid a hard border, defend the EU Single Market, and guarantee the integrity of the UK, Truss will tell MPs that the Bill is the foundation for a long-lasting and sustainable solution.
In the event that an agreement can be struck with the EU, it also enables the UK to put into practice a negotiated solution.
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said:
Protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the cornerstone of peace and stability in Northern Ireland, is our top concern. As it is, the Protocol threatens to upset this delicate balance.
By ensuring that goods can move freely within the UK, preventing a hard border, and preserving the EU Single Market, this Act will resolve the issues that the Protocol has brought about.
Although we would prefer a negotiated resolution, the EU continues to reject amending the Protocol itself, despite the fact that it is clearly leading to major issues in Northern Ireland. As a result, we are forced to take action.
After 18 months of negotiations with the EU, the UK is still in favor of a negotiated resolution to address the issues inherent in the Protocol.
However, the Protocol itself must be modified by the EU. Ministers feel they cannot afford to wait given the dire circumstances in Northern Ireland.
The Government is starting a series of organized meetings with the business community in conjunction with the second reading to talk about and collect opinions on the Bill’s specific implementation.
The first roundtable meeting with businesses and business organizations from across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is being held today at the Foreign Office.
This builds on years of sustained engagement up to this point, during which ministers have personally heard from business representatives about the issues the Protocol is causing on the ground.
More than a dozen significant UK companies and representative organizations, including the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Asda, John Lewis, and the Dairy Council NI, are participating at the event today.
Businesses will get the chance to debate the ideas to achieve the greatest outcome during Truss’ speech to the group at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London.
In each of the four major areas, the legislation will put into place long-lasting solutions:
Green and red channels save paperwork and expenses for companies doing business in the UK while ensuring that all inspections are completed for products entering the EU.
To ensure that Northern Ireland consumers can continue to purchase UK-standard goods even when UK and EU standards diverge over time, businesses should have the option of putting products on the market in Northern Ireland in accordance with either UK or EU goods requirements.
Make that NI has access to the same tax incentives and expenditure programs as the rest of the UK, such as Covid recovery loans and VAT reductions on energy-saving products.
Normalize governance structures so that independent arbitration, rather than the European Court of Justice, is used to settle disputes.