On December 24th, 2020, after the EU and Britain reached a Brexit agreement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that after a long and exhausting negotiation, she finally felt "relieved". After a lapse of more than a year, many people began to find that it was a bit premature to talk about "liberation" at that time, because the British government had begun to revise some contents of the Brexit agreement.

△ EU leaders sign the British "Brexit" agreement (Source: Charles Michel, President of the European Council, social media account)

　　Prepare to break the contract

　　On the 17th local time, the British government finally took a crucial step and announced that it was prepared to allow the government to change some contents of the Northern Ireland Protocol through legislation.

△ British Foreign Secretary Trass (Source: Daily Telegraph)

　　British Foreign Secretary Trass said in a speech in Parliament on the same day that the British government will introduce legislative procedures in the next few weeks to amend some of the contents of the "Northern Ireland Protocol" previously signed by Britain and the European Union, and will implement a series of necessary measures to make the trade between the British island and Northern Ireland smoother. Including the goods shipped from Great Britain, if the destination is only Northern Ireland, they can take the green channel, and a series of regulatory obstacles will be removed, so that enterprises can have the right to choose under the dual regulatory system of the European Union and the United Kingdom. More details of the measures will be announced in the future.

　　Analysts believe that the British government’s proposal to introduce legislative procedures to amend some provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol is quite provocative. That is to say, the British government does not want to repudiate the previously signed agreement, and some of its contents have to be revised, but the British government is unwilling to take into account whether the EU agrees or not, because the bill can be implemented as long as it is voted by Parliament. The most important purpose of the British government’s announcement at this moment is two things. On the one hand, it wants to play the game of "coward" with the European Union, just like two cars driving in the same lane, each showing that it is not afraid of collision and betting on the other side to make concessions for itself first. On the other hand, it also gives a guarantee to Northern democratic unionist party, which is currently opposed to the agreement, urging it to form a government jointly with Sinn Fein as soon as possible.

　　However, as soon as the plan came out, it immediately aroused fierce opposition from many parties in Britain. Many people think that this practice is against international law.

△ Screenshot of the social media platform of Mary Lu McDonald, the leader of Sinn Fein Party in Northern Ireland

　　After the announcement of the plan, MacDonald, the leader of Sinn Fein Party in Northern Ireland, said on his social media platform for the first time that the British government was prepared to use "legislation" to "break the law".

　　Labour MP Stephen Doherty pointed out that it is not the time for political show and playing "marginal games". Breaking the previously signed "Brexit" agreement will make the relationship between Britain and the EU deteriorate rapidly. Now the government has broken the agreement it signed two years ago, and it is already full of difficulties.

　　Steffen said that two and a half years ago, the current government signed the "Brexit" agreement, which included the "Northern Ireland Protocol". At that time, it was stipulated that there was a border checkpoint on the Irish sea, which was well known to the outside world and to the current government. But only two years later, the government tried to tell everyone that the most important achievement of that year now seems to be not a victory, but an agreement full of loopholes.

　　What is the problem?

　　The problem lies in part of the Brexit agreement — — Protocol of Northern Ireland.

　　Due to its special geographical position, Northern Ireland was in a dilemma after the Brexit. Northern Ireland is located outside the British island of Great Britain and borders Ireland. Since Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market after Brexit, Britain and the EU finally reached a compromise plan, namely "Northern Ireland Protocol", as part of the Brexit agreement.

　　According to the agreement, a "wall" has been erected between Northern Ireland and Great Britain Island. One side of the "wall" is Northern Ireland, which will remain in the European single market, and the other side is Great Britain Island, which is located in the Irish Sea. Commodities passing through this "wall" must go through the corresponding customs inspection.

　　However, after nearly two years of actual operation, the British government believes that this "wall" has caused many problems, such as the goods from the British island of Great Britain can not be successfully transported to Northern Ireland, and some people think that it has damaged Britain’s sovereignty and so on. Some experts estimate that due to the existence of this "wall", the British government will spend 850 million pounds more each year to build digital infrastructure, goods inspection and so on. The Northern Ireland issue has always been the most critical issue in the process of Brexit. Whether this issue can be solved well is related to whether Britain can "leave the EU" smoothly. Today, this problem still plagues British politics.

　　EU reaction: tit for tat

　　In response to various British practices, the EU has always responded that if it abandons the agreement, it will face serious consequences.

△ Screenshot of the official website statement of the European Commission

　　On the 17th, local time, European Commission Vice-President Sevkovich made a quick statement on the speech made by British Foreign Secretary Trass. In the statement, Sevkovich said that the British government is preparing to introduce a legislative statement that does not meet the requirements of the previous agreement at the legal level. He believes that the "Northern Ireland Protocol" is an international agreement signed by both Britain and the European Union, and it is unacceptable to unilaterally violate the international agreement. If the British government, as announced today, decides to continue to introduce bills that are not in line with the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU will take all available means to respond.

△ British local media "Daily Telegraph" report screenshot

　　In response to the statement of European Commission Vice-President Sevkovich, the British media analyzed that the EU may implement a trade war, which may make the British economy worse.

△ Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs social media platform issued a screenshot

　　The attitude of Ireland, another important participant in the incident, is also very clear. On the same day, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that he was very sorry for the British government’s decision to introduce legislation. Unilateral actions against international agreements undermined trust, which would only make it more difficult to solve the concerns of the people in Northern Ireland.

　　Who is the biggest victim of the "coward game"

　　Due to the political deadlock caused by the "Northern Ireland Protocol", the Northern Ireland government has stopped operating for several months, and the problems that ordinary people are concerned about, such as the reform of the medical system and the rising cost of living, have been delayed. On the 17th local time, according to the figures of the British Bureau of Statistics, the real income of British residents decreased by 1.2% from January to March this year after excluding inflation, and the latest forecast of the Bank of England shows that the inflation rate may reach 10% this year, which will further squeeze the income of ordinary families.

　　If Britain and Europe fail to reach an agreement on the issue of Northern Ireland and eventually start a trade war, the prices of goods imported from the EU, such as automobiles and food products, will continue to increase, which will undoubtedly add insult to injury to the lives of the British people. According to the statistics of experts from the British School of Economics and Political Science, due to Britain’s "Brexit", the price of food imported from the European Union has increased by about 6% on average. Coupled with the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the COVID-19 epidemic, it is a big question mark whether Britain can still undertake such a trade war.

　　It has been nearly six years since the British referendum on "Brexit", and the dispute over "Brexit" seems to be far from over. For the British government, the rising cost of living in China, the economic crisis with high inflation, the political crisis caused by the Prime Minister’s "party door", the Northern Ireland issue and a series of chain reactions caused by "Brexit" all need to be solved urgently. However, at this time, the British government has frequently tried to intervene in Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific issue, which is really a slippery record. If you don’t manage the housework well, I’m afraid you’ll have to swallow the bitter fruit that is hard to swallow in the future.

　　Producer: Jiang Qiuyong

　　Reporter Chen Minglei