Brexit latest news: Truss to give EU 72-hour deadline on Northern Ireland before scrapping protocol & More Trending News

EU vice chairman Maroš Šefčovič on Tuesday stated that renegotiating the protocol on Northern Ireland was not an choice.

“The EU has been open to joint work with the UK on implementing the protocol to bring long-term legal certainty and predictability to the people and businesses in Northern Ireland,” he stated in an announcement.

Mr Šefčovič added: “The protocol, as a cornerstone of the withdrawal agreement, is an international agreement. Its renegotiation is not an option. The European Union is united in this position.”

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has been urged to pull again from the brink over the Northern Ireland protocol, amid warnings {that a} commerce warfare with the EU would put peace in danger and deepen the price of residing disaster.

Ahead of Thursday’s assembly between Ms Truss and her EU counterpart Maroš Šefčovič, the White House has issued a stern warning to either side to preserve speaking.

The prospect of Britain bringing the curtain down on talks with Brussels has additionally triggered alarm amongst Tory MPs, with the chair of the Commons Northern Ireland committee Simon Hoare denouncing “sabre-rattling” and defence committee chair Tobias Ellwood warning that scrapping the protocol can be “bad for Irish peace, bad for British influence and bad for jobs and living standards”.

Mr Ellwood informed The Independent: “Abandoning the protocol is self-defeating. It plays into Sinn Fein’s narrative that a united, peaceful Ireland is better for Northern Ireland. It will provoke a trade war with the EU at a time when the UK has done so well in leading the European response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.

Andrew Woodcock, Ben Chapman and Kate Devlin report.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is anticipated to supply the EU 72 hours to budge in talks over Northern Ireland border checks or the federal government will unveil laws to dismiss the Protocol.

Ms Truss is probably going to inform her EU counterpart Maroš Šefčovič at a gathering on Thursday that the negotiations have reached the tip of the highway.

The determination will likely be taken on Monday whether or not to hand ministers sweeping powers to override massive components of the withdrawal deal, sources informed The Telegraph.

Boris Johnson has informed the European Union there isn’t any want for “drama” as he doubled down on hints he might override parts of his post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.

The prime minister stated on Wednesday that the Good Friday Agreement is extra essential than the Northern Ireland Protocol, as he dismissed strategies of any doable escalatory response from the EU as “crazy”.

He stated the protocol fails to command help from unionists within the area, including “we need to sort it out”, regardless of warnings from Joe Biden’s White House and European leaders not to single-handedly meddle with the settlement he brokered.

Boris Johnson vowed to deploy the “maximum energy effort” to assist alleviate the cost-of-living disaster, promising extra help “in the months ahead”.

In a press convention in Finland, he stated: “We will have the maximum energy effort, ingenuity, to help the British people through them and everybody knows how tough it can be right now

“But we’re gonna get through just as we got through Covid.

“And you know all the money we’re already spending, there will be more of course, there will be more support in the months ahead as things continue to tough with the increase in the energy prices.”

The UK deal signed with Finland will see one another “always come to one another’s aid”, the Prime Minister has stated.

Speaking at a press convention in Helsinki alongside Finnish president Sauli Niinisto, Boris Johnson stated: “The security declaration, the solemn declaration we have signed today, ensures that our two nations can intensify our partnership and take it to unparalleled heights, both latitudinal and metaphorical.

“From the high north, to the Baltics and beyond, our armed forces will train, operate and exercise together, marrying our defence and security capabilities and formalising a pledge that we will always come to one another’s aid.

“Because this is not a short-term stop gap, Sauli.

“This is not a short-term stop gap as you consider Nato membership, but an enduring assurance between two nations, an assurance that brings us ever closer as we face the challenges of today, the threats of tomorrow, side by side.”

Boris Johnson said a “solemn declaration” between the UK and Finland reflects the “extreme difficulty of the times we are in” ahead of signing a historic security pact with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

The prime minister was greeted by Mr Niinisto at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, with dozens of onlookers watching from across street as the two leaders shook hands outside the residence.

He arrived in the Finnish capital at around 4pm UK time after signing a parallel agreement with Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson in Harpsund, her country retreat, where he said the UK would help to defend the country against any military attack.

Sitting across a dining table from Mr Niinisto ahead of their bilateral meeting, Mr Johnson said: “I think the solemn declaration we’ve agreed is very useful between us and we value it very highly and I think that it reflects the extreme difficulty of the times that we are in and the consequences of the aggression we have seen”.

Boris Johnson urged the EU not to create any “drama” over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

In an interview in Sweden, Mr Johnson told BBC News: “Let’s face it, we’re talking about really in the scheme of things, a very, very small part of the whole European economy and I think 0.4% of the value of the whole of the EU economy in Northern Ireland. It is crazy.

“I didn’t think there’s any need for drama. This is something that just needs to be fixed.”

The Trade Unions Congress (TUC) has criticised Conservative MP Lee Anderson’s food banks comments, describing them as “insulting”.

TUC normal secretary Frances O’Grady stated: “Many people who use foodbanks are in work. These remarks are insulting and show how out of touch Conservative MPs and ministers are with the cost of living emergency.

“While the Government sits on its hands, families across Britain are being pushed to the brink by soaring bills and prices.

“Rather than being condescending, Conservative politicians should be putting pressure on the Chancellor to call an emergency budget.”