Former Brexit negotiator blames EU now after fights over Northern Ireland

David Frost, who negotiated on behalf of the United Kingdom in the Brexit process last year, stepped out in the European Union on Sunday. Frost, now an EU adviser to Boris Johnson’s government, calls in the European Union The sunday telegraph Malicious and says that Brussels is completely to blame for the new conflict over Northern Ireland.

The reason for the criticism is the legal move Brussels is currently considering. On Wednesday, the British decided to postpone customs control for six months for British products moving to Northern Ireland. According to the European Union, this goes against the Brexit agreement, with which the British would therefore violate international law.

Frost turns it around and writes that Britain had no other option after considering establishing customs control at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland last month. After a storm of criticism, the measure was scraped nonetheless. “This behavior of the EU has severely damaged confidence in the Northern Ireland Protocol (which keeps the Irish border open”, ed.), Frost said.

In the new situation after Brexit, Northern Ireland falls under the European Customs Union, meaning free movement to the Irish island is possible. Products entering Great Northern Ireland from Great Britain need to be checked. The new situation, among other things, led to empty shelves in Northern Irish supermarkets, which forced Britain to further postpone border controls. “Steps have been taken to protect the daily lives of Northern Irish people so that they can receive packages and run errands,” writes Frön.

“I hope that they (EU, ed.) Overcome hostility to Britain and choose to have a friendly relationship as the two sovereign powers,” the British EU adviser concluded.