It was "no big deal," Boris Johnson said, as the government introduced the long-heralded "Northern Ireland Protocol Repairs" Protocol bill to Parliament on Monday.
In a radio interview given by the Prime Minister on a farm visit in southern England, he could only identify a "relatively trivial set of adjustments" and a "bureaucratic change" to the Brexit deal, which were also in line with international law.
This was seen differently beyond the British borders - but also in large parts of Westminster.
In Dublin on Monday there was talk of a "particularly low point in the British approach to Brexit".
Britain is violating its international obligations, breaking the exit agreement and damaging relations with the EU, it said.
Jochen Buchsteiner
Political correspondent in London.
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Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.
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It sounded similar in Brussels.
The EU Commission Vice-President responsible for negotiations with London, Maroš Šefčovič, called British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is responsible for Brexit, in the morning.
Šefčovič said the Union had always given "the utmost attention" to the impact of the exit on Northern Ireland and offered "workable solutions".
"Unilateral action damages mutual trust and is a formula for insecurity."
This initially expressed the disappointment that even with Truss it had not been possible to come closer to a solution.
The Slovenian Social Democrat and the British Conservative initially developed a working working relationship, while meetings with their predecessor, David Frost, had recently been so tense that diplomats gave three crosses when they were over.
Brussels fears gateway for smugglers
With the controversial law, the British government wants to create the basis for being able to unilaterally change the agreed regulations in the Northern Ireland Protocol if the negotiations with the EU continue to fail.
The focus is on the idea of simplifying the goods controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland that have been required since Brexit.
According to this, only goods that go to the Irish Republic and thus to the EU internal market should be subject to full controls.
Goods intended only for consumption in Northern Ireland, on the other hand, should be allowed to circulate freely.
London pledges to severely punish companies illegally exporting through the "green channel".
All relevant data would be shared with Brussels.
The opening of such a green channel is seen in the EU as a possible gateway for smugglers and thus as a "threat to the integrity of the internal market".
The law will also allow London to regain sovereignty over state aid and VAT rates in Northern Ireland.
Since the Brexit Treaty, these have been subject to EU standards because Northern Ireland was granted a special status to prevent a goods border on the island of Ireland.
Another change concerns the legal oversight of the arrangements for Northern Ireland.
The government speaks of an "unequal" system because the treaty gives the European Court of Justice - the court of the other party - the final say in disputes over the interpretation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
London now wants to "remove the ECJ's role in arbitration and enable UK authorities and courts to determine the rules that apply in Northern Ireland."
The aim is that the same rules apply to Northern Ireland as to the rest of the Brexit Treaty and the trade agreement: In the event of a dispute, an international arbitration board should decide.