What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why are the EU and UK fighting over sausages?
The UK and the EU are set to thrash out their differences over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Brexit minister Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, will meet on Wednesday after the latter suggested the EU is finding it hard to trust the UK following its departure from the bloc
Mr Sefcovic said there have been “numerous and fundamental gaps in the UK’s implementation” of the two sides’ trade deal and that the EU will act “firmly” if the UK does not agree on deadlines for complying with its obligations.
In turn, Environment Secretary George Eustice claimed the Northern Ireland Protocol, in the way the EU wants to implement it, would make it impossible for UK producers to sell British sausages to Northern Ireland.
Sky News has taken a closer look at the issues.
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Many suppliers in Britain ‘have chosen to stop supplying to Northern Ireland’
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
It is a crucial part of the Internal Markets Bill, which was drawn up to ensure trade between all four UK nations remains barrier-free after the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020.
The Northern Ireland Protocol was put in place to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
It states that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK’s customs territory – so if the UK signs a free trade deal with another country, Northern Irish goods would be included.
However, Northern Ireland will have to stick to some EU rules to allow goods to move freely into the Republic.
Goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland will not be subject to a tariff unless they are “at risk” of being moved into the EU afterwards.
Mr Eustice said in 2020 there would need to be “some checks on some goods” and “some customs processes but not customs checks” at the border with the Republic.
Goods coming from Northern Ireland to Great Britain can have “unfettered” access, the Internal Market Bill says. This means goods sold in Northern Ireland will be accepted everywhere else in the UK, but the reverse may not be true.
The Northern Ireland Protocol was meant to prevent a physical border on the island of Ireland
What has happened since the Brexit transition period ended?
Products from Great Britain entering Northern Ireland have had to undergo EU import procedures at the ports.
An Irish Sea border has effectively been imposed in an effort to prevent a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
This has resulted in delays and sometimes sparse supermarket shelves.
Checks imposed at the port in Larne, Northern Ireland, have not been popular
What are the UK and EU disagreeing over?
Under the protocol, a ban will come into force if the UK and EU cannot agree on new regulatory standards to cover the sale of some products after a “grace period” allowed under the agreement.
In March, the UK unilaterally extended the grace period for supermarket goods and parcels for another six months, after it was due to finish at the end of that month.
The EU launched legal action against the UK for extending that grace period.
The UK promised there would be no sea border
It is understood British ministers are now considering a unilateral extension for chilled meats, including sausages and mince, which is due to end on 30 June.
After the grace period, chilled meats produced in Great Britain will not be allowed to be sold in Northern Ireland as they are not from the EU, which has strict restrictions on food products.
Mr Sefcovic said retaliation by the EU would be so extreme it would ensure the UK “abides by its international law obligations”.
Boris Johnson‘s spokesman said there was “no case whatsoever” for blocking the sale of chilled meats.
British sausages have been the focus of the latest disagreement
Lord Frost claims the EU has been “inflexible” over the protocol, something the EU rejects.
The EU has said the UK could align with its animal health and food safety rules to remove the need for 80% of the current Irish Sea customs checks.
But the UK has rejected this, as it says it will tie Britain’s hands in trade negotiations with other countries.
The UK has also accused the EU of failing to engage with its own proposals, especially with the issues people in Northern Ireland are facing.
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Politics
UK and France have ‘shared responsibility’ to tackle illegal migration, Emmanuel Macron says
Emmanuel Macron has said the UK and France have a “shared responsibility” to tackle the “burden” of illegal migration, as he urged co-operation between London and Paris ahead of a crunch summit later this week.
Addressing parliament in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday, the French president said the UK-France summit would bring “cooperation and tangible results” regarding the small boats crisis in the Channel.
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King Charles III at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA
Mr Macron – who is the first European leader to make a state visit to the UK since Brexit – told the audience that while migrants’ “hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate”, “we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life”.
“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he added.
Looking ahead to the UK-France summit on Thursday, he promised the “best ever cooperation” between France and the UK “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries”.
Sir Keir Starmer will hope to reach a deal with his French counterpart on a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal at the key summit on Thursday.
King Charles also addressed the delegations at a state banquet in Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, saying the summit would “deepen our alliance and broaden our partnerships still further”.
King Charles speaking at state banquet welcoming Macron.
Sitting next to President Macron, the monarch said: “Our armed forces will cooperate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine as we join together in leading a coalition of the willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression. In other words, in defence of our shared values.”
In April, British officials confirmed a pilot scheme was being considered to deport migrants who cross the English Channel in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in France with legitimate claims.
The two countries have engaged in talks about a one-for-one swap, enabling undocumented asylum seekers who have reached the UK by small boat to be returned to France.
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Britain would then receive migrants from France who would have a right to be in the UK, like those who already have family settled here.
The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.
President Macron greets Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at his address to parliament in Westminster.
Elsewhere in his speech, the French president addressed Brexit, and said the UK could not “stay on the sidelines” despite its departure from the European Union.
He said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.
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“Our two countries are among the oldest sovereign nations in Europe, and sovereignty means a lot to both of us, and everything I referred to was about sovereignty, deciding for ourselves, choosing our technologies, our economy, deciding our diplomacy, and deciding the content we want to share and the ideas we want to share, and the controversies we want to share.
“Even though it is not part of the European Union, the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines because defence and security, competitiveness, democracy – the very core of our identity – are connected across Europe as a continent.”
Emmanuel Macron addressing parliament in the Palace of Westminster’s Royal Gallery was a highly anticipated moment in the long history of our two nations.
That story – the conflict and a historic Anglo-French agreement that ended centuries of feuding, the Entente Cordiale – adorn the walls of this great hall.
Looming over the hundreds of MPs and peers who had gathered in the heat to hear the French president speak, hang two monumental paintings depicting British victories in the Napoleonic wars, while the glass stand in the room commemorates the 408 Lords who lost their lives fighting for Europe in two world wars.
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The French president came to parliament as the first European leader to be honoured with a state visit since Brexit.
It was the first address of a French president to parliament since 2008, and Mr Macron used it to mark what he called a new era in Anglo-Franco relations.
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Sky News’ political correspondent Tamara Cohen was watching Emmanuel Macron’s speech. She highlights the president saying he wants to see tangible results on migration.
Peers and MPs cheered with delight when he confirmed France would loan the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK in the run-up to the anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birthday.
“I have to say, it took properly more years to deliver that project than all the Brexit texts,” he joked as former prime minister Theresa May watched on from the front row
From Brexit to migration, European security, to a two-state solution and the recognition of Palestine, Mr Macron did not shy away from thorny issues, as he turned the page on Brexit tensions woven through Anglo-French relations in recent years, in what one peer described to me as a “very political speech rather than just the usual warm words”.
Emmanuel Macron addresses parliament
He also used this address to praise Sir Keir Starmer, sitting in the audience, for his leadership on security and Ukraine, and his commitment to the international order and alliances forged from the ashes of the Second World War. For that, he received a loud ovation from the gathered parliamentarians.
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The test now for Sir Keir is whether he can turn his deft diplomatic work in recent months with Mr Macron into concrete action to give him a much-needed win on the domestic front, particularly after his torrid week on welfare.
The government hopes that France’s aim for “cooperation and tangible results” at the upcoming political summit as part of this state visit, will give Starmer a much-needed boost.
The PM is attempting to drive-down crossings by negotiating a one-in one-out return treaty with France.
Under this plan, those crossing the Channel illegally will be sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in an asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.
But as I understand it, the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.
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