UK's Johnson renews threat to EU over Northern Ireland trade

By Trend

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday that London "will have to take the steps that are necessary" to resolve an escalating dispute with Brussels over Northern Ireland trade, Trend reports citing Euronews.

He was speaking to reporters as he travelled to Rome for a G20 summit.

At the heart of the rift is the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed as part of the Brexit divorce treaty. It deals with a territory that is part of Britain but has to keep an open land border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member.

The protocol keeps Northern Ireland subject to many EU trade rules, including checks on goods.

But the arrangement has caused tensions with Northern Ireland’s unionists, who say it amounts to a border in the Irish Sea that weakens ties to the rest of Britain, as well as creating shortages.