Liz Truss, the favorite in the race for the leadership of the British Conservative Party and, by implication, for the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has decided to suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol, the document attached to the Agreement with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, if she leads the executive in London, reports Agerpres with reference to Euractiv.com.

British officials say the necessary conditions are already in place to trigger Article 16, under which the Protocol can be suspended if it causes “economic, social or environmental hardship which tends to persist” or “disruptions to trade”.

Suspension of the Northern Ireland Protocol would be a popular measure among Tory MPs.

In June, the head of British diplomacy, Liz Truss, presented a legislative project that seeks to unilaterally denounce the Protocol. The text has the support of a majority in the House of Commons, but is likely to be significantly changed by the House of Lords, where the Conservative Party does not have a majority.

What the Northern Ireland Protocol provides

The Northern Ireland Protocol is intended to prevent the re-imposition of a physical border between the province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (a member state of the European Union), which would threaten the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed in 1998. , customs control is carried out in northern ports – Ireland, including for goods coming from Great Britain.

However, the government in London has tried to renegotiate the deal with Brussels, claiming there have been disruptions in the transport of some goods to Northern Ireland and even threatening to activate safeguards under the deal if the EU does not accept an amendment. text

Boris Johnson announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Great Britain this summer amid a scandal surrounding the breach of quarantine rules during the Covid-19 pandemic. He provides an interim until September 5, when the name of his successor will be announced, between current foreign minister Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak.

Read also:

• Post-Brexit: London wants to make major changes to the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol
• Northern Ireland: what it is and what it gives the protocol that is at the heart of the discord between London and Brussels