UK's Johnson urges end to N Ireland deadlock, spars with EU
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Northern Ireland to try to end a political deadlock that is preventing the formation of a regional administration
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Northern Ireland on Monday to try to end a political deadlock that is preventing the formation of a regional administration.
The trip comes amid threats by Johnson's government to break the Brexit agreement with the European Union that it blames for the crisis.
Voters in Northern Ireland elected a new Assembly this month, in an election that saw Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein win the most seats. It was the first time a party that seeks union with the Republic of Ireland has won an election in the bastion of Protestant unionist power.
The Democratic Unionist Party came second and is refusing to form a government, or even allow the assembly to sit, until Johnsonās government scraps post-Brexit checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.
Under power-sharing rules set up as part of Northern Irelandās peace process, a government canāt be formed without the cooperation of both nationalist and unionist parties.
Johnson will urge political leaders in Belfast to get back to work and deal with ābread and butterā issues such as the soaring cost of living, his office said Sunday. It said he will also accuse the EU of refusing to give ground over post-Brexit border checks and warn that Britain will have a ānecessity to actā unless the bloc changes its position.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that shares a border with the EU. When Britain left the bloc in 2020, a deal was agreed to keep the Irish land border free of customs posts and other checks, because an open border is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Instead, there are checks on some goods, such as meat and eggs, entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.
The arrangement is opposed by unionists in Northern Ireland, who say the new checks have put a burden on businesses and frayed the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.
The British government agrees that the regulations are destabilizing Northern Irelandās peace agreement, which relies on support from both Protestant unionist and Catholic nationalist communities.
The prime minister's office said Sunday that the trade agreement ā which Johnson's government negotiated and signed ā had āresulted in the unionist community feeling like its aspirations and identity are threatened.ā
The U.K. has said it may pass a law allowing it to override parts of the Brexit treaty if the EU doesn't agree to scrap the checks. If that happened the EU would hit back with legal action ā and potentially trade sanctions. The 27-nation bloc is Britainās biggest economic partner.
Ivan Rogers, a former British ambassador to the EU, said āI think thereās a severe risk that we are heading into a trade war.ā
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said Britainās āsaber-rattling and grandstandingā was undermining Northern Ireland peace āat a time when the world needs the Western world to be united, to be acting in concert to solve problems together.ā
āThe last thing the EU wants, the last thing that Ireland wants, is tension with the U.K., particularly at the moment given whatās happening in Ukraine, Russian aggression, and the need to work together on an international stage,ā he told Sky News.