EU to caution against UK disapplying parts of NI Protocol

The EU will take a very negative view of any move by the UK to disapply parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, RTÉ News understands.

The move is expected to be signalled around the Queen's Speech next Tuesday.

The speech normally sets out the British government’s legislative priorities for the next session of parliament.

UK officials have been briefing that London will bring forward legislation to disapply parts of the Protocol in the wake of tomorrow’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

The EU believes that while threatening the legislation, the UK may refrain from acting on the threat.

Member states and the European Commission will strongly discourage such a course of action, RTÉ News understands.

Any such move would be viewed by the EU as particularly unfortunate in view of the Russian army’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, the day before the Queen’s Speech, given the need for Western unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The EU will reinforce its view that the UK must uphold its international treaty obligations at a time when Vladimir Putin is attempting to harshly undermine the rules-based international order.

While the EU is expected to deliver a muted response, officials are likely to say that unilateral action by the UK will not solve the problems of the Protocol and that the EU remains committed to working with London to find joint solutions on implementing the Protocol.

Brussels sources say that the UK will attempt to leverage election results in Northern Ireland, which polls have suggested could leave Sinn Féin as the largest party, in order to create a crisis in which London will regard unilateral action on the Protocol as justified.

However, sources say the EU will refrain from commenting on the election results in Northern Ireland.

If the Queen's Speech contains an explicit or veiled threat to legislate to dismantle the Protocol, the EU will remind the UK that it is bound by its international legal obligations, including the Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol.

The EU will insist that a renegotiation of the Protocol is not an option, RTÉ News understands.

Sources have dismissed recent UK reports that France is taking a harder line on the Protocol.

They have insisted that member states are united on the issue, and that they are content for the European Commission, under Maros Sefcovic, to continue negotiations with the UK on finding joint solutions.

It is understood that EU member states have been informed that the European Commission will "use the remedies at its disposal in order to uphold the full implementation of the Protocol."