UK demands EU renegotiate post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland
Al JazeeraThe United Kingdom’s government has demanded the European Union re-negotiate post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland after rioting and business disruption hit the restive province. But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told parliament on Wednesday that while the UK had negotiated the protocol “in good faith”, its real-world application by the EU had entailed “considerable and continuing burdens”. “We urge the EU to look at it with fresh eyes and work with us to seize this opportunity and put our relations on a better footing.” The protocol was painstakingly negotiated to avoid a hard border with Ireland, by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market. In its proposals, Britain urged the EU to stop broad checks and focus more squarely on goods “genuinely” at risk of entering its single market via Northern Ireland. ‘Gaps on the shelves’ Retail chain Marks and Spencer said that in the protocol’s current guise, there will be “gaps on the shelves” in Northern Ireland this Christmas.