Halt to Northern Ireland Brexit checks ‘a breach of international law’
A decision by a Democratic Unionist minister to halt all Brexit checks on food and animals entering Northern Ireland has been described by Ireland’s European commissioner as “an absolute breach of international law”.
The move by agriculture minister Edwin Poots has been branded an electioneering stunt by opposition parties in Northern Ireland and has set the UK on a collision course with the EU.
Mairead McGuinness, finance commissioner in Brussels, said the two sides working “tirelessly” to resolve the dispute over the checks, and the move, which came into effect on Thursday, was unhelpful. “This announcement has created uncertainty and unpredictability and certainly no stability, so I’m not sure what the purpose of this move is … it’s an absolute breach of international law,” she told RTE.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the issue would be raised at a meeting between the UK’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, and European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič later on Thursday.
“The European Commission will closely monitor developments in Northern Ireland pursuant to this announcement. It recalls the responsibility of the UK government for the respect of the international obligations it has entered into.
“The protocol is the one and only solution we have found with the UK to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) agreement.”.
That Brussels did not reference any legal action in its statement indicates that diplomacy will be the first line of offence in the latest row.
Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, also described the move as “a breach of international law”.
But Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis told ITV that the decision was a matter for the Northern Ireland government but that such unilateral action
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