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Northern Ireland: Brexit dispute becomes a burden for peace agreements

2021-03-04T14:04:22.538Z


Probritarian militias in Northern Ireland are suspending their support for the Good Friday Agreement because of the Brexit deal, according to a report. Meanwhile, the EU is threatening the UK government with legal action.


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Posters against a customs border in the Irish Sea hang on a fence in the UK

Photo: 

Liam Mcburney / dpa

After many years of violence on the island of Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought peace between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists.

Because of the dispute over the consequences of Brexit, the conflict threatens to break out again.

Probritarian militias said in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quoted by the Belfast Telegraph, that they would temporarily suspend their support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 because of concerns about the special arrangements for Northern Ireland after the British exit from the EU.

They called for changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Brexit Agreement to ensure unhindered trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Unionist groups such as the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Ulster Defense Association and the Red Hand Commando pledged to present their resistance in a "peaceful and democratic" manner.

This warning increases the pressure on Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin and the EU to come to an agreement.

Maintaining the peace without giving the UK a back door to the EU internal market via Northern Ireland was one of the most difficult tasks in the Brexit negotiations.

The dispute over the Northern Ireland settlement between Great Britain and the European Union had intensified on Wednesday.

The government in London announced that it would unilaterally extend tariff relief for agricultural and food transports to the British province until October 1st.

This exemption is limited in the Brexit deal until the end of March in order to avoid bottlenecks.

Talks between both sides about an extension have so far not brought any result.

The EU condemned the British action as a violation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and threatened legal action.

Ireland's foreign minister, Simon Coveney, told RTE that the British government's behavior shows that it "simply cannot be trusted, and this is not the first time this has happened".

EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic spoke of a violation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and held a crisis discussion with British Brexit representative David Frost.

This defended the decision of London even afterwards as "temporary technical steps".

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mjm / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-03-04

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