British former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major call in via an open letter The Sunday Times MPs to reject Prime Minister Johnson’s new Brexit law.
According to the former prime ministers, Johnson’s attempt to unilaterally amend the Brexit agreement is embarrassing the United Kingdom. They call Johnson’s proposal “irresponsible, fundamentally wrong and dangerous in practice.”
Blair and Major fear, among other things, the situation in Northern Ireland and the negotiations with the EU on a trade agreement. “It questions the integrity of our nation,” they write. Labor politician Blair and the Conservative Major have previously spoken out against Brexit.
Unilateral adjustments
In January, the United Kingdom signed the Brexit deal with the EU. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Johnson presented a law that adds unilateral adjustments to that agreement.
This mainly concerns the status of Northern Ireland. Johnson does not want freight traffic between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to be burdened with additional controls or other restrictions. This goes against the agreement with the EU, which states that border traffic between Northern Ireland and Ireland must continue unhindered.
According to the EU, this means that the border of Northern Ireland with the other parts of the United Kingdom must be checked.
Impending chaos
Tomorrow the Brexit adjustments will be discussed in the British Parliament.
From US Johnson warned to throw the Brexit changes in the trash before the end of the month. Otherwise sanctions are imminent, according to Brussels, as the British will then be in breach of contract. After all, the separation agreement between the EU countries and the United Kingdom has been signed by both parties and is therefore binding.
The new row puts the talks on a trade agreement that should take effect on January 1, on edge. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the European Union and the United Kingdom will part with no trade agreement on 1 January. Many fear chaos at the borders.
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