British Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker is proposing to restore the Brexit trade deal struck by former minister David Frost with the European Union as a means of solving problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, The Guardian reports, citing News. ro.

The proposal comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tried to quell outrage in the Conservative Party over suggestions that Downing Street was planning to build a Swiss-style relationship with the EU to ease trade barriers on food and agricultural products.

In a confidential document circulated in the Northern Ireland office, Baker outlines potential ways to remove the European Court of Justice’s role in the dispute, which is being called for by both unions and the Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG).

The proposals essentially revisit the succession argument that Britain lost in 2017 when the Conservative Party was undecided on whether to remain in the EU’s customs union and single market.

Failing to get the necessary commitments from Theresa May, the EU decided to include the Northern Ireland protocol in a legally binding withdrawal agreement rather than a trade deal.

In the paper, Baker proposes that the order be scrapped to end the conflict over the Northern Ireland protocol. He proposes updating the trade agreement by adding a “customs cooperation chapter” and amending the protocol to include a dispute mechanism that does not involve the European Court of Justice. However, experts say this may be an insurmountable challenge.

“In theory, it’s all possible, but whether the EU will agree to it is another question,” said Catherine Barnard, professor of European law at Cambridge University and deputy director of the Britain in a Changing Europe think tank.

She said the EU had “taken a very firm approach” that the European Court of Justice would have to play a role in the protocol if Northern Ireland wanted to remain in the asylum, following UK-EU trade rules.

But Baker argued that while it was a “narrow and steep” road, the political will to find a solution to Northern Ireland’s Brexit was there, with US President Joe Biden, the EU, Irish and British governments all expressing their determination to find a negotiated solution by the 25th. anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April next year.

Under current arrangements, businesses shipping goods from the UK to Northern Ireland must comply with EU customs and standards laws and regulations.

The EU has offered a special fast track for goods that remain in Northern Ireland such as sausages, ready meals and horticulture products including seed potatoes and trees for supermarkets as well as garden and farm shops.

Britain has called for a system similar to “green lanes” for trucks loaded with goods destined for Northern Ireland and “red lanes” for those carrying goods destined for the Republic of Ireland and the EU.

Shefchovych, Vice President of the European Commission. recently said the system would reduce the number of inspections to a few trucks a day. Last year, Šefkovic said a Swiss-style trade deal would remove 80% of controls because it would mean Britain’s food and farming standards were legally aligned with Britain’s.

However, Sunak played down reports that he was now considering the option in the wider UK-EU arena, saying earlier this week that the “regulatory freedom” to deviate from EU standards was a key advantage he would not give up in the future. talks.