{"id":24743,"date":"2022-01-09T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-09T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24743"},"modified":"2022-01-10T09:28:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T14:28:25","slug":"eu-unimpressed-with-liz-truss-article-16-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24743","title":{"rendered":"EU Unimpressed With Liz Truss’ Article 16 Threats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Joao Vale de Almeida, the EU’s Ambassador to the UK (PA Archive\/PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The European Union is \u201cnot too impressed\u201d with British foreign secretary Liz Truss’ threat to override parts of the post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland if negotiations fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joao Vale de Almeida, the bloc\u2019s ambassador to the UK, said it is unhelpful to \u201ckeep agitating the issue\u201d of triggering Article 16, ahead of discussions this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Truss said she will suggest \u201cconstructive proposals\u201d to her EU counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, during their first face-to-face talks, at her Chevening retreat on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she said she is \u201cwilling\u201d to invoke Article 16, which would suspend parts of the treaty designed to prevent a hard border with the Republic, if a deal cannot be struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Vale de Almeida told Sky News\u2019s Trevor Phillips on Sunday: \u201cWe\u2019ve heard this before from the Government, so we\u2019re not surprised. We are not too impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe still believe it\u2019s not very helpful that we keep agitating the issue of Article 16. I think what we should focus on \u2013 at least that\u2019s where we are focused on \u2013 is trying to find solutions for difficulties in the implementation of the protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called for \u201cnew momentum\u201d in the talks, adding: \u201cWe are eager to reconnect but we are even more eager to find compromises because we need to move on. It\u2019s been too long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK foreign secretary was handed responsibility for the negotiations after David Frost resigned as Brexit minister last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss said it is her \u201cabsolute priority\u201d to resolve the \u201cunintended consequences\u201d created by the protocol to maintain peace in the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I see Maros Sefcovic this week for our first face-to-face talks, I\u2019ll be putting forward our constructive proposals to resolve the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current issues are \u201cmyriad and manifest\u201d, she argued, citing issues such as bureaucracy on sending parcels between Northern Ireland and Britain and problems in procuring kosher food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am prepared to work night and day to negotiate a solution,\u201d Ms Truss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut let me be clear: I will not sign up to anything which sees the people of Northern Ireland unable to benefit from the same decisions on taxation and spending as the rest of the UK, or which still sees goods moving within our own country being subject to checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy priority is to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland. I want a negotiated solution, but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Mr Sefcovic warned that \u201cthe foundation of the entire deal\u201d brokered between the UK and the EU will be jeopardized if Ms Truss takes the drastic step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a very distracting element in the discussions. You try to achieve something together and \u2013 bam \u2013 there\u2019s the threat of Article 16 again,\u201d he told German newspaper Der Spiegel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt touches on the fundamentals of our relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Northern Ireland Protocol was the most complicated part of the Brexit negotiations, and it is the foundation of the entire deal. Without the protocol, the whole system will collapse. We must prevent that at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

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