Review of the Brexit agreement: London summoned by Brussels to explain itself - France 24

London (AFP)

Now is the time for explanations: London is hosting an emergency meeting with the European Union on Thursday to justify its desire to reverse the Brexit agreement, which has sown discord in the middle of the final phase of sluggish negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the 27.

The intention of London to pass a bill partially contradicting the agreement ratifying its divorce with the European bloc last January, a maneuver violating international law by its own admission, is going very badly with Brussels.

The Europeans have therefore convened an extraordinary meeting of the joint committee responsible for overseeing the application of the text.

European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic arrived in London on Thursday morning to meet with British Minister of State Michael Gove to "obtain clarifications from the United Kingdom on the full application, and on the due date, of the withdrawal agreement, "EU executive spokesman Eric Mamer said on Twitter.

This surge in tensions has come to plague a new session of time-trial negotiations with the EU, which are supposed to be successful in the coming weeks to define the modalities of cooperation, in trade and security in particular, between the former partners at the end of a post-Brexit transition period ending at the end of December.

The discussions stall, stumbling in particular on fishing and the conditions of fair competition, and raise fears of a "no deal" destructive for the economy.

Time is running out, Brussels wanting an agreement by the end of October to allow ratification on time.

Boris Johnson warned for his part that for lack of compromise between now and the European summit on October 15, he would be satisfied with a "no deal".

- Possible legal action -

"I think the UK government needs to act to restore confidence and provide significant reassurance to EU negotiators," Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday.

"Our colleagues in Europe, especially those leading the negotiations, are now wondering whether or not there is the will to (...) reach a deal - and this is a serious problem."

If despite everything the UK persists and signs, it runs the risk of EU action that could lead it to the European Court of Justice, according to a working document of EU ambassadors, seen by the 'AFP.

The controversial British bill on the internal market wants to return "in a very specific and limited way", according to London, on the protocol concerning Northern Ireland, which defines the customs regime of this British province.

This text aims to guarantee the absence of a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU, and to avoid the resurgence of tensions in this region, bloodied by three decades of "unrest" until 'at the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement in 1998.

But the return of customs controls raises fears of renewed tensions.

It is about "protecting our country against the extreme or irrational interpretation of the protocol, which could lead to a border in the Irish Sea in a way which in my opinion would be detrimental to the interest of the agreement of the Good Friday and prejudicial to the interests of peace in our country, "Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained to MPs on Wednesday.

- The deal with Washington at stake -

The British move has sparked criticism even within the ruling Conservative camp, including from former heads of government, from Theresa May to John Major.

The latter believes that if the United Kingdom "lost its reputation for honoring (its) promises", it would lose "something that is priceless and that we may never find".

The maneuver could in particular sabotage the negotiations of the United Kingdom with other countries, in particular the United States with which it intends to obtain an ambitious free trade agreement before the end of the year.

"If the UK violates this international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday deal, there will be absolutely no chance of a UK-US trade deal going through Congress," dryly warned Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives.

© 2020 AFP