IT HASN’T GONE away, you know.
Brexit is back in the news this week after news broke about the latest trade talks between the EU and the UK.
Senior EU figures were dismayed after suggestions emerged in the Financial Times that new Brexit legislation to be introduced tomorrow could override key elements of the Withdrawal Agreement brokered by Johnson last year.
The UK government will introduce the Internal Market Bill tomorrow. It aims to ensure goods from Northern Ireland continue to have unfettered access to the UK market while making clear EU state aid rules – which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland – will not apply in the rest of the UK.
Despite concerns being raised, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman insisted the “limited clarifications” in the legislation were necessary to ensure the gains from the Good Friday Agreement can be preserved in the event talks fail.
But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned there could be no backtracking by the UK on its previous commitments if it wanted to reach a free trade agreement. And Minister Simon Coveney warned that abandoning the agreement would be “a very unwise way to proceed”.
So things aren’t looking rosy in the run-up to tomorrow. In addition, the UK’s legal head Sir Jonathan Jones resigned over the issue.
To talk us through what exactly is happening, and how things look for the rest of the year, EuroNews reporter Shona Murray joins us on this week’s episode. She talks to Sinéad O’Carroll from Brussels about what the mood is like over there.
The Explainer / SoundCloud
This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll and producer Aoife Barry, technical operator Laura Byrne, and executive producer Christine Bohan. Guest was Shona Murray of EuroNews. Design by Palash Somani.
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