What guarantees of respect for obligations would final signature of the provisionally ratified Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) provide? And just two months after receiving a diplomatic bloody nose over its Internal Market Bill, which would have given ministers treaty-breaking rights to override or ignore parts of the Northern Ireland protocol to the withdrawal agreement. The measures announced by Northern Secretary Brandon Lewis on Tuesday involve a unilateral decision to extend by six months the grace period before health certificates are required for agrifood shipments from Britain to Northern Ireland. Frost insists unconvincingly that the measures are “temporary technical steps” consistent with the UK’s intention to discharge its obligations under the protocol “in good faith”. The UK cannot expect the harmonious relationship with the EU it professes to seek if it treats binding agreements as easily discarded inconveniences.

Source: The Irish Times March 05, 2021 18:56 UTC