Sir Geoffrey Donaldson: “The ruling of the courts in favor of the power of the government to make such a unilateral decision to limit those rights raises existential questions about the adequacy of constitutional safeguards, whom the Unionists for 25 years expected to rely on as British citizens. Brexit settlement in Northern Ireland raises 'existential questions' about the adequacy of the Good Friday Agreement.
In the preface to a report proposing to abandon the Northern Ireland Protocol, Sir Geoffrey Donaldson warns that the deal has deprived businesses and consumers of the «full economic rights» enjoyed by people living in other parts of the UK.
The Brexit Policy Center report should be published on Tuesday and also supported by MPs, including David Jones, Vice Chair of the European Study Group. He calls for a «mutual enforcement» system whereby the EU and the UK will abide by the other side's trade rules to avoid checks on the «invisible» border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Sir Geoffrey suggests that such an arrangement could lead to a restoration of power sharing in Stormont, where the DUP refuses to return as a result of the Brexit settlement.
«Lack of intercommunal agreement»
Sir Geoffrey's preface states: “The imposition of trade barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the absence of communal agreement, has resulted in the subordination of Article 6 of the Acts of Union in respect of Northern Ireland. It deprives local businesses and consumers of all the economic rights that these provisions grant and guarantee to citizens in all parts of the United Kingdom.
“The decision of the courts in favor of the government’s power to make such a unilateral decision to limit these rights raises existential questions about the adequacy constitutional guarantees that the Unionists for 25 years expected to rely on as British citizens. It cannot be ignored as part of any structure to solve problems and get Northern Ireland back on track.”
The plan, laid out by the Brexit Policy Center, involves abandoning the Protocol and the Windsor Framework agreed to by Rishi Sunak earlier this year. According to the proposals, British exporters to the EU who violate Brussels rules will be punished by British courts, and exporters from the EU to the UK will be monitored by EU officials.
The report says: «Mutual enforcement, under which the UK and The European Union is committed to enforcing each other's rules and standards on imports and exports, based on existing international trade practice and endorsed in a July 2021 Government Order.
«It protects both the UK and trade blocs of the EU, returns the sovereignty of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom and allows the return of an invisible border on the island of Ireland. It cuts the NI Gordian knot related to issues of sovereignty, trade and post-Brexit governance. This opens up the possibility of DUP returning to Stormont.»
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