By Anadolu Agency
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says she would trigger Article 16 if parties fail to agree on ‘negotiated solution’
Britain will pull out of Northern Ireland Protocol if a “negotiated solution” with the EU is not reached, the UK’s foreign secretary said.
Writing for The Telegraph Saturday, Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator Liz Truss said she would trigger the Article 16 “safeguard clause” in the protocol, which was signed between the UK and EU to avoid a land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
“Northern Ireland is not in the Single Market and should not be treated as if it is,” Truss wrote.
“We are proposing a common-sense solution – goods going to the EU should go through customs formalities and those staying in the United Kingdom should not,” she added.
Truss said her priority is “to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland.”
“I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.”
Truss’s remarks came as she is scheduled to host Maros Sefcovic, the bloc’s negotiator at Chevening, Kent, next Thursday for further discussions on the problems caused by the protocol.
Sefcovic has already warned of “serious consequences” if Britain triggered Article 16.
The Northern Ireland Protocol necessitates border checks on any animal and plant-based products, including frozen meat and processed meat products, before their transport to Northern Ireland, which is aligned with the EU rules and regulations.
The protocol creates a de facto trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The UK left the bloc on Jan. 31, 2020, as a result of a 2016 referendum that ended the country’s more than 40-year-long membership in the European club.
The agreement signed by the sides included the Northern Ireland Protocol, which practically avoided a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland saw sporadic street protests by loyalist groups who reject the protocol and any checks on goods coming from other parts of the UK last year.