It remains to be seen whether the regulations that were found in the Northern Ireland Protocol, an appendix to the Brexit Treaty, for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the last word.
But the protocol has been signed by the UK government and the EU;
it has legal force.
London had agreed at the time, knowing that the regulation would in fact introduce a customs border in the Irish Sea and would therefore meet with resistance from Northern Irish Unionists, who are allergic to any change in their status in the Kingdom.
And there have actually been bottlenecks in goods.
The Johnson government has now unilaterally suspended corresponding regulations - so much for its contractual loyalty - and even threatens unilateral termination.
The EU Commission rejects new negotiations on the protocol, but does not add fuel to the fire.
The Commissioner responsible is exploring practical solutions in Northern Ireland.
The pragmatism it expresses is sensible, precisely because the interests of all parties involved cannot be brought into line.
A "sausage war" would be truly ridiculous - and yet conceivable when passions boil up.
The “green island” must not go back in time and reduce cooperation.
And Europeans and British have recently received bitter lessons about reliability and their true global political magnitude.
How true: The Brexit drama is not "over".