Johnson Says It’d Be ‘Legitimate’ to Suspend Brexit Deal Over Northern Ireland
Boris Johnson said it would be “perfectly legitimate” for the U.K. to suspend part of the Brexit deal with the European Union, though his government still wants to negotiate a solution to their escalating trade spat.
The U.K. is demanding a major overhaul of the divorce agreement it signed with the bloc, arguing that its implementation is causing significant harm to businesses and communities in Northern Ireland. Johnson has repeatedly threatened to suspend parts of it by using Article 16 of the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, if the bloc doesn’t agree to rewrite it.
Yet doing so carries the risk of severe retaliation from the EU. On Monday, the bloc’s top negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, told Irish lawmakers that any such move would call into question the EU’s broader trade deal with the U.K., signed at the end of 2020 to ensure tariff-free commerce.
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