‘The British renaissance has begun’: Lord Frost to bait EU with triggering Article 16
Lord Frost will reportedly hazard to the European Union today that the UK is willing to trigger Article 16 unless the bloc gives the green light to replacing the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Proposals have already been drawn up to replace the protocol and the Brexit minister will tell the Tory party conference that the country “cannot wait forever” for Brussels.
Speaking in his keynote in Manchester, Frost will voice his concerns regarding the EU’s suggestions as to how to fix the protocol will not offer the “significant change we need”, the Telegraph first reported.
“Without an agreed solution soon, we will need to act, using the Article 16 safeguard mechanism, to address the impact the protocol is having on Northern Ireland,” he is expected to say later today.
If London enacts the clause, it could result in Brussels responding with legal action – which could include retaliatory tariffs on British imports.
“The long bad dream of our EU membership is over. The British renaissance has begun,” Frost will say.
It comes as Irish minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney urged that an “ongoing standoff” on the Northern Irish protocol was in “nobody’s interest”.
However, “we need to be honest with people as well in terms of what’s possible”, Coveney explained.
Coveney said the European Commission was “working to find common ground” and that his government was working the body consider applying “the maximum flexibility possible in terms of implementing the protocol”.
“But that is not a renegotiation or a change of the protocol. It’s about applying significant flexibilities as to how it’s implemented and having an open mind about new ways of doing things and that’s the space we’re in to try and respond to genuine concerns in Northern Ireland.”