Northern Ireland Protocol friction: who’s to blame?
No one seriously thinks that this is really about British sausages ‘sneaking into Co Donegal’, says The Sunday Telegraph

When the Brexit Minister Lord Frost announced his proposal to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol last week, he observed that most of the “current friction” between Britain and the EU stemmed from this arrangement. “It’s hard to argue with that statement,” said Peter Foster in the FT. Yet it is also hard to see Frost’s proposals as he tried to present them – as “an even-handed, mutually consensual attempt to make the Northern Ireland situation work for both sides”.
Frost’s 28-page “command paper” does not offer “detailed technical solutions to difficult problems”. Rather, it effectively suggests that the Protocol – which leaves Northern Ireland effectively inside the EU single market for goods, to avoid a hard border with the Republic – should be renegotiated. “It is an attempt to wind the clock back to arguments that were lost in 2019,” but that Boris Johnson’s Government “now wants to try to win again”.
The Protocol should be renegotiated, or better still, scrapped, said Daniel Hannan in The Sunday Telegraph. “For six months, Britain has been bending over backwards to make the system work, while the EU gives every impression of relishing our discomfort.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The UK has spent more than £500m helping businesses adapt. It has given EU officials unprecedented access to its customs systems. “It has repeatedly suggested ways to facilitate the flow of goods while ensuring that uncertified products don’t enter EU territory.” Brussels has responded to every offer “by insisting on the most intrusive checks possible”.
No one seriously thinks that this is really about British sausages “sneaking into Co Donegal”. Around 20% of all the regulatory checks carried out by the EU are done on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain – though the volume of trade is relatively tiny. “No, this is about squeezing the UK.”
The UK has “legitimate concerns” about the Protocol, said Anand Menon and Jill Rutter in The Guardian. It has caused genuine difficulties, both for Northern Ireland’s trade and for its politics. However, the fact remains that this Government signed this treaty less than two years ago. “The problems were both foreseeable and foreseen.” Brexiters, of all people, should have been aware that “the EU is not known for its flexibility”.
Brussels has duly dismissed the idea that the Protocol should be renegotiated, said The Times. And it would “be better to try to make existing arrangements work”, with both sides making “reasonable compromises”. But the clock is ticking. The latest grace period before EU regulations are fully enforced lasts until 30 September. It’s in both sides’ interest to make Brexit work for Northern Ireland.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
3 varied alternatives to X for when you simply cannot with the new iteration of Twitter
The Explainer These competing microblogging sites have struggled to catch up to Elon Musk's market behemoth
-
Google's new AI Mode feature hints at the next era of search
In the Spotlight The search giant is going all in on AI, much to the chagrin of the rest of the web
-
Strike a pose at these 7 fashionable hotels
The Week Recommends Make these hotels in Macau, Italy and Washington, D.C., your personal runway
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
How the civil service works – and why critics say it needs reform
The Explainer Keir Starmer wants to 'rewire' Whitehall, which he has claimed is too 'comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline'
-
Brexit 'reset' deal: how will it work?
In Depth Keir Stamer says the deal is a 'win-win', but he faces claims that he has 'surrendered' to Brussels on fishing rights
-
Donald Trump's foreign policy flip in the Middle East
Talking Point Surprise lifting of sanctions on Syria shows Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are now effectively 'dictating US foreign policy'
-
Home energy: Bills are up, efficiency is out
Feature The Energy Star program saves Americans billions of dollars, but the Trump administration plans to 'eliminate' it.
-
Pirro: Trump turns to another loyalist
Feature Trump appoints Jeanine Pirro, a 2020 election denier, as U.S. attorney
-
Hate pays: Making $770K from a racist rant
Feature A Minnesota mom made $770,000 after being caught on camera calling a 5-year-old boy a racial slur
-
Medicaid: Will millions lose coverage?
Feature House Republicans have proposed a plan to cut Medicaid coverage for millions to help fund the GOP's tax cuts