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The UK government\u2019s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has called on Brussels to \u201cshake off any remaining ill will\u201d towards the UK for leaving the bloc.<\/p>\nThe UK government\u2019s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has called on Brussels to \u201cshake off any remaining ill will\u201d towards the UK for leaving the bloc.<\/p>\n
The European Commission has said it will launch legal action against the UK after it announced it was extending a series of \u201cgrace periods\u201d designed to ease trade between Northern Ireland and Britain while permanent arrangements are decided.<\/p>\n
UK cabinet office minister David Frost said on Wednesday that London\u2019s move should allow time for constructive discussions with counterparts in Brussels.<\/p>\n
But the intervention provoked a furious response in Brussels, with the EU accusing the UK of going back on its treaty obligations in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement intended to ensure there is no return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.<\/p>\n
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Frost said the move was lawful and designed to protect the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Boris Johnson as prime minister, our agenda is one of an outward-looking country, confident we can work with others towards common goals,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is our hope for our ties with our European friends and allies too. I hope they will shake off any remaining ill will towards us for leaving, and instead build a friendly relationship, between sovereign equals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement was designed by the EU and UK to avoid a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
It means keeping Northern Ireland aligned to various EU rules, requiring checks on goods arriving into the region from Britain.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the chief British negotiator in Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007 said Mr Frost had chosen to \u201cpoke a stick in the eye\u201d of the bloc by taking unilateral action on the grace periods.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Powell, who was also Tony Blair\u2019s chief of staff, said the move was a reprise of Mr Frost\u2019s \u201cdisastrous tactical maneuver during the negotiations last year of breaking international law by unilaterally abrogating the protocol in the Internal Market Bill, which later had to be humiliatingly withdrawn\u201d.<\/p>\n
Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Powell said: \u201cThe only safe option is to find a way to make the protocol work better, which means trying to rebuild trust with the Irish and with the commission rather than attacking them.\u201d<\/p>\n
DUP leader Arlene Foster, meanwhile, has criticized Brussels for taking a \u201cvery belligerent approach\u201d to the difficulties caused by the protocol post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster also said \u201csomething had to give\u201d and the UK had to take action and extend a grace period.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the White House has again stressed the support of new US President Joe Biden for the Belfast Agreement, which the protocol is intended to protect.<\/p>\n
Prior to last year\u2019s election, Mr Biden \u2013 who is famously proud of his Irish roots \u2013 warned the agreement must not become a casualty of Brexit.<\/p>\n