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Brexit Brief Issue 103
02 February 2021

                                                                                       Tony Brown

 Introduction
 The Brief seeks to provide up-to-date information on the progress and content of the UK-EU
 negotiations, and bring together relevant statements and policy positions from key players in
 Ireland, the UK and the EU.

 The Brief is part of a wider communications programme covering the work of the IIEA’s UK
 Project Group – including commentaries, speeches, texts and event reports – which are
 highlighted on the Institute’s website. (www.iiea.com)

 Section One: State of Play                      ties or the Northern Ireland Executive. The
                                                 Taoiseach at once contacted Commission
 Vaccine and the Protocol                        President Ursula von der Leyen who was
 A major post-Brexit crisis was avoided when     also approached by UK Prime Minister Boris
 the European Commission reversed a plan         Johnson, expressing “grave concern” over
 to use the emergency provisions under Ar-       the move. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister
 ticle 16 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Pro-   discussed the situation and agreed a clear
 tocol, to restrict exports of COVID-19 vac-     joint approach.
 cines moving across the border between          In Northern Ireland, the First Minister, Ar-
 Ireland and Northern Ireland, as the dispute    lene Foster, denounced the Commission
 on contracts and vaccine deliveries between     plan as an “absolutely incredible act of hos-
 the Commission and the Oxford/AstraZene-        tility towards those of us in Northern Ire-
 ca pharma firm escalated dramatically.          land.” The leaders of all five parties in the
 On Friday 29 January 2021 the Commission        Northern Ireland Assembly also spoke of
 announced its intention to introduce vac-       their serious concern, describing the move
 cine export control regulations, including      as a “grave error”. Michel Barnier, who had
 activation of Article 16. There was no pri-     negotiated the Protocol on behalf of the EU,
 or notification of the Irish and UK authori-    expressed his deep misgivings about the

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implications of the Commission move.             emergency record without following any of
                                                 the process that are in the Protocol if one
Just before midnight the Commission issued
                                                 side wants to suspend it. And they did that,
a Statement saying that the Northern Ire-
                                                 in my view, without anywhere near the un-
land Protocol would not be affected by the
                                                 derstanding of the Good Friday Agreement,
steps taken to control vaccine exports. Ar-
                                                 of the sensitivity of the situation in Northern
ticle 16 would not be triggered. A revised
                                                 Ireland and it was an almost Trumpian act.”
version of the control regulations was is-
sued on 30 January.                              The events of 29 February have brought
                                                 immediate criticism of the Commission with
The Taoiseach told the BBC that he first be-
                                                 talk of ‘misjudgement’, ‘mismanagement’
came aware of the EU’s plan to put checks
                                                 and ‘blunder’. The failure to consult the Irish
on the Irish border when the Commission
                                                 and UK Governments and the Northern Ire-
issued a public announcement which effec-
                                                 land leaders has been highlighted by critics
tively blindsided the Irish and UK Govern-
                                                 as well as the lack of consultation with those
ments and the Northern Ireland Executive.
                                                 in the Commission with direct knowledge of
He immediately contacted the Commission
                                                 the post-Brexit situation in Ireland, such as
President, Ursula von der Leyen and made
                                                 Michel Barnier and members of his nego-
clear the serious implications of the EU
                                                 tiating Task Force. Commissioner Mairead
move for the operation of the Protocol and
                                                 McGuinness has accepted that the initial
the Protocol itself. President von der Leyen
                                                 plan was mistaken and that there would
“took on board” his concerns and “thank-
                                                 be a serious internal review of the process
fully” the Commission pulled back from its
                                                 leading to the Article 16 reference.
stance.
                                                 Fallout in Northern Ireland
The Taoiseach told Andrew Marr that the
Commission move was not a hostile act but        The immediate comments of Northern Ire-
that “only four weeks into the operation of      land’s First Minister, Arlene Foster, reflect
the Protocol, there are bound to be teething     the growing frustration and anger in DUP,
problems but I do acknowledge the need for       and wider unionist circles, with the working
engagement here on all sides, between the        – and indeed the very existence – of the
European Union, the United Kingdom and           Protocol.
the Irish Government and the Northern Ire-
                                                 The First Minister has reiterated calls for the
land Executive.”
                                                 UK Prime Minister to trigger Article 16 to
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Cov-              enable action on the serious issues of food
eney commented that “lessons should be           supplies and general freight movement
learned: the Protocol is not something to be     problems arising in the early post-Brex-
tampered with lightly, it’s an essential, hard   it weeks. Hauliers have faced difficulties
won compromise, protecting peace and             transporting stock from Great Britain such
trade for many.”                                 as essential spare parts and manufacturing
                                                 components. The Agriculture Minister has
The former UK Northern Ireland Secretary,
                                                 spoken of empty shelves and greater short-
Julian Smith, commented that “years have
                                                 ages when the initial grace period ends in
been spent trying to ensure there will be no
                                                 March, and pet owners complain of unnec-
hard border and last night the EU pulled the
                                                 essary veterinary procedures.

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Arlene Foster has spoken of “the great un-        European Commission Statement
rest and great tension within the communi-        on the vaccine export authorisation
ty here in Northern Ireland […] this Protocol     scheme
that was meant to bring about peace and
                                                  Late on 29 January 2021, the European
harmony in Northern Ireland is doing quite
                                                  Commission issued a Statement on the Vac-
the reverse. The Protocol is unworkable,
                                                  cine Export Authorisation Scheme:
let’s be very clear about that and we need
to see it replaced otherwise there is going to           To tackle the current lack of transpar-
be real difficulties here.” The PSNI has told            ency of vaccine exports outside the
a House of Commons Committee that dis-                   EU, the Commission is putting in place
content was brewing in loyalist communi-                 a measure requiring that such exports
ties due to the Protocol, suggesting that if it          are subject to an authorisation by
wasn’t for COVID-19 there would be street                Member States.
protests.
                                                         In the process of finalisation of this
The Cabinet Office Minister, Michael Gove,
                                                         measure, the Commission will ensure
has commented that he is seeking to “re-
                                                         that the Ireland / Northern Ireland
set” relations with the EU over Northern Ire-
                                                         Protocol is unaffected. The Commis-
land. There is an acceptance in London that
                                                         sion is not triggering the safeguard
there must be a wide-ranging agreement
                                                         clause.
between London and Brussels on the signifi-
cant number of issues which are making life              Should transits of vaccines and active
difficult for people in Northern Ireland. The            substances toward third countries be
former Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa               abused to circumvent the effects of
Villiers, has commented that “It is vital that           the authorisation system, the EU will
the government uses this as an opportunity               consider using all the instruments at
to talk quite toughly with the EU about how              its disposal. In the process of finalising
the Northern Ireland protocol is working.”
                                                         the document, the Commission will
The DUP and UUP have been further ex-                    also be fine-tuning the decision-mak-
ercised by an apparent Protocol-related                  ing process under the implementing
requirement of customs declarations for                  regulation. The final version of the
movements of military equipment from                     implementing regulation will be pub-
Great Britain to Northern Ireland. DUP lead-             lished following its adoption tomorrow.
er Arlene Foster has described this as “an-
other example of the hundreds of problems
with the Protocol.” A UUP MLA, Doug Beat-         President von der Leyen response
tie, has called for urgent action by the UK
                                                  In an interview published in the Irish Times
Government to “protect military operations”
                                                  on 2 February, President von der Leyen in-
in Norther Ireland.
                                                  dicated her regret regarding the mention of
                                                  Article 16, but declined to apologise for it
                                                  on the basis that the document was a provi-
                                                  sional one. She also explained the rationale
                                                  behind the incident:

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       Of course, I am fully aware of the sen-    States more time to scrutinise the 1,200
       sitivity related to the protocol on Ire-   page text, and, specifically, to allow the text
       land and Northern Ireland. I fought for    to be translated into the EU’s 23 official lan-
       this protocol and its implementation       guages. Concern has been expressed that
       over the past year, and am deter-          provisional translations were done in great
       mined to ensure it is upheld. Our sole     haste in December and required careful
       aim in designing the export transpar-      checking. Political sensitivities exist – not
       ency and authorisation scheme is to        least in France - about moving to ratify the
       achieve transparency on shipments of       deal on the basis of the English language
       vaccines abroad, so as to make sure        document,
       that this is not done to the detriment     The UK argues that the February deadline
       of expected deliveries in the EU.          remains the right one and looks to the EU
                                                  to complete all formalities within the agreed
       The commission was looking for a
                                                  timeframe but has indicated that a request
       solution that stems from the specific
                                                  from Brussels for extension would be con-
       nature of Northern Ireland’s position
                                                  sidered. It is likely that the case for an ex-
       in the single market but also as a part
                                                  tension will be among the first issues to be
       of the United Kingdom. It is in that
                                                  dealt with by the new EU-UK Partnership
       context that initial consideration was
                                                  Council to be established to oversee the im-
       given to the need to track deliveries      plementation of the Agreement.
       to Northern Ireland specifically, since
       they can then leave the EU without         Dail Motion on Trade and Cooperation
       further checks. This is how the discus-    Agreement, 20 January 2021
       sion on invoking article 16 of the pro-    On 20 January 2021, Dáil Éireann debated
       tocol arose.                               a Government Motion supporting the Trade
                                                  and Cooperation Agreement:

EU Seeks Extension of time for Ratifi-                   Dail Eireann supports the Trade and
cation of EU-UK Trade Deal                               Cooperation Agreement between the
                                                         European Union (EU) and the Euro-
The EU is seeking an extension of the dead-
                                                         pean Atomic Energy Community, of
line by which the Trade and Cooperation
                                                         the one part, and the United Kingdom
Agreement with the UK must be ratified.
                                                         of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The EU wants the agreed target date of the
                                                         (UK), of the other part, done on 30th
end of February to be advanced to the end
                                                         December, 2020;
of April. Both sides must agree on any ex-
tension as the February date is written into             welcomes that:
the deal.
                                                         — the Trade and Cooperation Agree-
The Agreement is being provisionally ap-                 ment, together with the Withdrawal
plied and formal ratification is dependent               Agreement, including the Protocol on
on the decision of the European Parliament.              Ireland/Northern Ireland have en-
The call for an extension is intended to give            sured the achievement of Ireland’s
the European Parliament and the Member

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       key objectives in the Brexit process,      The Taoiseach introduced the Motion, saying:
       including Ireland’s continued commit-
                                                         There was nothing inevitable about
       ment to our place at the heart of Eu-
                                                         the agreement reached between EU-
       rope and protection of our place in the
                                                         UK on Christmas Eve. The finalisation
       Single Market;
                                                         of the trade and co-operation agree-
       — the Protocol on Ireland/Northern                ment, together with the withdrawal
       Ireland, which protects the Good Fri-             agreement, including the protocol on
       day Agreement and the gains of the                Ireland and Northern Ireland, means
       peace process, including avoiding a               that all of Ireland’s key objectives
       hard border on the island of Ireland,             in the negotiations were achieved.
       is now also in effect as of 1st January,          In particular, these agreements en-
       2021; and                                         sure the protection of the Good Fri-
                                                         day Agreement and the gains of the
       — the Trade and Cooperation Agree-
                                                         peace process; avoid a hard border
       ment explicitly takes account of the
                                                         on the island of Ireland; facilitate the
       Common Travel Area between Ireland
                                                         maintenance of the common travel
       and the UK, pursuant to which current
                                                         area; enshrine the best possible out-
       bilateral arrangements are protected
                                                         come, given UK choices, for trade and
       so that Irish and British citizens can
                                                         the economy, notably tariff-free and
       continue to live, work, study, access
                                                         quota-free trade with the UK; protect
       healthcare, social security and public
                                                         Ireland’s place in the Single Market;
       services in each jurisdiction; and
                                                         protect the Single Market itself; and
       — acknowledges that while the UK                  ensure fair competition and a level
       has left the EU, including the seamless           playing field for Irish businesses.
       trading environment provided by its
                                                         The trade and co-operation agreement
       Single Market and Customs Union, the
                                                         creates a new stable relationship with
       Agreement provides stability to under-
                                                         the UK for the Irish transport and en-
       pin a new EU-UK relationship, notably
                                                         ergy sectors and ensures co-operation
       tariff and quota free trade and crucial-
                                                         between police services on these is-
       ly avoids the alternative of a no deal
                                                         lands can continue, based on protect-
       scenario.
                                                         ing fundamental rights and the rule of
Sinn Fein tabled an Amendment calling on                 law. Importantly, it allows EU-UK rela-
the Government to take action to deal with               tions to move forward into 2021 from
the implications of the Agreement for the                an agreed starting point, rather than
Fisheries sector and to seek changes to the              from a point of division and rupture.
EU Common Fisheries Policy.
                                                  The Sinn Fein Amendment on Fisheries was
                                                  defeated (27-18) and the Motion was ad-
                                                  opted without a vote.

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Dail Eireann Q and A on Agreement,                           There are multiple issues here that
21 January 2021                                              people are trying to work out at the
                                                             moment in terms of how we respond
On 21 January 2021 Dail Eireann held a
                                                             to that but, again, it is essentially a
Q&A session on aspects of the Brexit deal
                                                             consequence of the complexity of the
which demonstrated the complex and con-
                                                             trading environment to which Brexit
troversial questions arising from the early
                                                             leads.
post-Brexit experience.
                                                             Some of the new realities, including
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Co-
veney, and the Minister for European Af-                     disruption to trade, increased bureau-
fairs, Thomas Byrne, engaged with TDs on                     cracy, paperwork and preparation, are
the content, implications and impact of the                  here to stay. We will be able to work
Trade and Cooperation Agreement. More                        the systems more efficiently as time
than twenty Deputies took part, raising a                    goes by, but we are never going to get
wide range of individual issues, including:                  back what we had before, which was a
bilateral relations with the UK; the North-                  seamless trading market that the UK
ern Ireland Protocol; treaty review arrange-                 was part of in a shared EU Customs
ments; transition periods; the Brexit Ad-                    Union and Single Market.
justment Fund; major problems of trade
connectivity; land bridge and sea routes and
capacity; supply chains; Customs Clearance            Reorganisation of Commission Services
procedures and cost; the Common Trav-
                                                      The EU Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier,
el Area; health cooperation with Northern
                                                      had been appointed as Special Adviser to
Ireland; public procurement; and a range
                                                      the Commission President, Ursula von der
of specific sectoral issues (education, steel
                                                      Leyen, to advise the President on the imple-
imports, milk processing, car insurance,
                                                      mentation of the EU-UK withdrawal Agree-
workers’ rights, drivers licences and online
                                                      ment and provide expertise on the finali-
purchases from UK.). A separate session
                                                      sation of the EU ratification process of the
devoted to Fisheries, with Minister Charlie
                                                      EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
McConalogue, also involved almost twenty
Deputies.                                             Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič
                                                      has been appointed the Commission Mem-
In the Dail session, Minister Simon Coveney
                                                      ber to co-chair and represent the European
made a number of comments on the gener-
                                                      Union in the Partnership Council between
al post-Brexit situation:
                                                      the EU and UK, established under the terms
       The honest message that we have to             of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
       get across here today is that compa-
                                                      The Commission’s EU Task Force will cease
       nies have got to adjust to the new real-
                                                      to exist on 1 March and will be replaced on
       ities, although it is somewhat difficult,      that date by a new Commission Service for
       rather than pretending that there is a         the EU-UK Agreements (UKS), within the
       magic political solution to put all this off   Secretariat-General of the Commission,
       for six months to give everybody more          charged with supporting the efficient and
       time. That is very unlikely to happen.         rigorous implementation and monitoring of

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the Agreements with the UK. The UKS will          state. The EU High Representative for For-
closely cooperate with the High Represen-         eign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has written to UK
tative/Vice President for Foreign Policy and      Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, express-
Security. The mandate and duration of the         ing serious concerns about the situation
UKS will be reviewed on a continuous basis.       and arguing that “the arrangements offered
                                                  do not reflect the specific character of the
Michel Barnier tweeted: “Honoured to con-
                                                  European Union, nor do they respond to the
tinue at EU Commission for a few weeks, as
                                                  future relationship between the EU and the
Special Adviser to President von der Ley-
                                                  UK as an important third country.” The For-
en. I will continue working closely with the
                                                  eign Secretary has insisted that the EU is an
European Parliament and Council to ensure
                                                  “international organisation”.
smooth ratification on the EU side.”
                                                  A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris John-
David Frost Appointment
                                                  son indicated that “The EU, its delegation
The UK Chief Negotiator, Lord David Frost,        and staff will receive the privileges and im-
has been appointed Brexit and International       munities necessary to enable them to carry
Policy Representative in the Prime Minister’s     out their work in the UK effectively. It’s a
office. His planned move from EU-UK busi-         matter of fact that the EU is a collective of
ness to the post of National Security Adviser     nations, but it’s not a state in its own right.”
will now not take place.
                                                  Speaking after a Foreign Affairs Council
Frost will head a new international policy unit   meeting on 25 January, Josep Borrell said
in No.10, leading the UK’s institutional and      that ministers shared a “clear view” on the
strategic relationship with the EU and help-      apparent snub. “It’s not a friendly signal […]
ing to drive through changes to maximise          the first one the United Kingdom has sent
the opportunities of Brexit, including on in-     to us immediately after leaving the Europe-
ternational trade and economic issues. The        an Union. If things continue like this there
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, commented          are no good prospects.” The Council had
that “I am thrilled that he has agreed to be      discussed EU-UK cooperation in matters of
my representative for Brexit and Interna-         common foreign, security and defence poli-
tional Policy as we seize the opportunities       cy and stressed that the EU stands ready to
from our departure from the EU.”                  engage with the UK on major global issues
                                                  – on climate change or by working together
A senior civil servant, Sir Stephen Lo-
                                                  on the global response to the coronavirus
vegrove, has been appointed National Se-
                                                  pandemic.
curity Adviser.
                                                  The EU has postponed an inaugural meet-
Dispute over status of EU Ambassador
                                                  ing with the recently appointed head of the
to UK
                                                  UK mission in Brussels in direct response to
The UK is refusing to give the EU Ambas-          the UK action. The courtesy meeting was
sador to London the full diplomatic status        to prepare for the formal presentation of
accorded to other ambassadors. The UK             credentials to the President of the European
Foreign Office has insisted that it would set     Council.
a precedent if it treated what is an inter-
                                                  In 2010, when the EU External Action Ser-
national body in the same way as a nation
                                                  vice was established, UK Ministers agreed

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to the proposal that EU diplomats would be       towards the end of 2020.
granted “privileges and immunities equiva-
                                                 The former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer,
lent to those referred to in the 1961 Vienna
                                                 George Osborne, now editor-in-chief of the
Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” The
                                                 London Evening Standard, has written in his
EU now enjoys full diplomatic status in more
                                                 paper that Northern Ireland is “heading for
than 140 countries around the world. In the
                                                 the exit door” from the United Kingdom and
US, the Trump administration downgraded
                                                 “slowly becoming part of a united Ireland.”
the status of the EU mission in Washing-
                                                 The Northern Ireland unionists have feared
ton in 2018 but reversed the position a year
                                                 that Britain was not fully committed to their
later.
                                                 cause but “their short-sighted support for
                                                 Brexit and the unbelievably stupid decision
                                                 to torpedo Theresa May’s deal that avoid-
Section Two: The Evolving                        ed separate Irish arrangements has made
Debatee                                          those fears a reality.” Should a united Ire-
Post-Brexit Opinion Poll                         land come about “most here will not care”.
                                                 He argued that “By unleashing English na-
A Sunday Times poll has indicated that peo-      tionalism, Brexit has made the future of the
ple across the UK believe that Scotland is       UK the central political issue of the coming
likely to vote for independence within the       decade.” The departure of Scotland would
next decade and that more than half of           be a more serious matter, representing the
those in Northern Ireland want a referen-        end of the United Kingdom and the London
dum on a united Ireland in the next five         Government must advance new, powerful
years. These results point to the difficulties   arguments against separation.
facing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the
UK Government in ensuring that the Unit-         The Northern Ireland First Minister, Arlene
ed Kingdom stays together after its depar-       Foster, has said that it would be “absolutely
ture from the European Union – an outcome        reckless” to be distracted by discussion of a
strongly opposed by voters in Scotland and       border poll when the priority must be work-
Northern Ireland in the 2016 referendum.         ing together to fight the pandemic.

In Scotland the poll found that 49 per cent      UK Labour Party Initiative on Good
backed independence, with 44 per cent
                                                 Friday Agreement
against – a margin of 52-48 if undecideds        The UK Labour Party has launched an edu-
are excluded. In Northern Ireland the poll       cation programme on the Belfast/Good Fri-
found that 47 per cent favour remaining in       day agreement, highlighting the party’s role
the UK, while 42 per cent in favour of a unit-   in negotiating the agreement and the role of
ed Ireland with 11 per cent undecided. 51        women and trade unions in the peace pro-
per cent supported the holding of a ‘border      cess.
poll’. In Wales, just 23 per cent backed leav-
ing the UK.                                      The Party Leader, Keir Starmer, said that the
                                                 Agreement must never be taken for grant-
Three polls in Scotland have been published      ed. The programme “will tell the story of
since the UK’s departure from the EU on 1        peace, Labour’s proud role in it and why the
January. They show an average 53 per cent        work to deliver the promise of peace goes
level of support for independence, down          on.” The Shadow Northern Ireland Secre-
from the 55 per cent in the same three polls     tary, Louise Haigh, described the Agreement
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as “one of our proudest achievements. It is     (Labour Party spokespersons) were kind
Labour’s responsibility, inside and outside     enough to send me a letter in my first week
of office to safeguard the agreement and        in the job asking for reassurances on this
build understanding of it. Our commitment       matter. I am happy to report that I have
to the political settlement is steadfast and    provided those reassurances, and I am very
unshakeable.”                                   willing to provide them every time.

The programme will include a four-part we-      We will not row back on the 48-hour weekly
binar series outlining the path to peace,       working limit derived from the working time
looking at the role of women, trade unions      directive. We will not reduce the UK annu-
and civil society, hearing from people who      al leave entitlement, which is already much
have grown up in Northern Ireland since the     more generous than the EU minimum stan-
Agreement and reviewing the unfinished          dard. We will not row back on legal rights
business of the peace process.                  to breaks at work. I will say it again: there
                                                is no Government plan to reduce workers’
Workers’ Rights
                                                rights.”
The controversy about the post-Brexit in-
                                                After a lengthy discussion the Motion was
tentions of the UK Government on work-
                                                passed without opposition.
ers’ rights reached the floor of the House
of Commons on 25 January 2021 with the          The Government position on workers’
introduction of a Labour Party Motion:          rights and other areas of EU regulation has
                                                changed significantly, in the face of strong
“That this House believes that all existing
                                                opposition from both the Labour Party and
employment rights and protections must be
                                                the trade union movement, and of a clear
maintained, including the 48-hour working
                                                indication from the CBI employers’ federa-
week, rest breaks at work and inclusion of
                                                tion that the business community had little
overtime pay when calculating some holi-
                                                appetite for deregulation
day pay entitlements, and calls on the Gov-
ernment to set out to Parliament by the end     The Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng,
of January 2021 a timetable to introduce        told an ITV news programme that the “bet-
legislation to end fire and re-hire tactics.”   ter regulation” review which had been re-
                                                ported, and admitted, was now a matter
The recently appointed Secretary of State
                                                for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and “no
for Business, Kwasi Kwarteng, indicated
                                                longer happening” within his Department.
that the Government would not oppose, or
                                                The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, indicated that
seek to amend, the Labour Motion. He said:
                                                the review is now concentrated on improv-
“I just want to make something very clear
                                                ing future rules and making the most of new
and unequivocal at the outset: we will not
                                                sectors and not on “ripping up” old rules.
reduce workers’ rights. There is no Govern-
ment plan to reduce workers’ rights. As the
new Secretary of State, I have been ex-
tremely clear that I do not want to dimin-
ish workers’ rights, and on my watch there
will be no reduction in workers’ rights. I do
not want there to be any doubt about my
or the Government’s intentions in this area.

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Section Three: Background                      RTE Martin says AztraZeneca issues
Material and Further Reading                   led to tensions in EU. RTE, 31 Janu-
                                               ary   2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/ire-
Background Material                            land/2021/0131/1194126-ireland-arti-
                                               cle-16/
European Commission Statement on
the vaccine export authorisation scheme,       The Guardian EU’s vaccine blunder re-
29 January 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/         opens Brexit battle over Irish border.
commission/presscorner/detail/en/state-        Guardian, 30 January 2021. https://www.
ment_21_314                                    theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/30/eus-
                                               vaccine-blunder-reopens-brexit-battle-
Tithe an Oireachtais Dail Eireann debate
                                               over-irish-border
on Brexit Deal – Wednesday 20 January
2021.    https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/de-      The Observer The Observer view on the
bates/debate/dail/2021-01-20/                  Vaccine dispute with Brussels. Observer, 31
European Commission College meet-              January 2021. https://www.theguardian.
ing: European Commission reorganises the       com/commentisfree/2021/jan/31/the-ob-
“Task Force for Relations with the United      server-view-on-the-vaccine-dispute-with-
Kingdom” into the “Service for the EU-UK       brussels
Agreements”, 19 January 2021. https://         BBC EU ‘fiasco’ on N Ireland heaps pressure
www.ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorn-         on Commission. BBC, 31 January 2021.
er/detail/en/ip_21_160                         https://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu-
Council of the European Union Informal         rope-55872763
Video Meeting of European Affairs Ministers,   BBC Covid: EU and UK ‘reset’ relations af-
18 January 2021. https://www.consilium.        ter NI vaccine row. BBC, 31 January 2021.
europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2021/01/18/          https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55876176
Council of the European Union Foreign          Irish Times EU backs down on plan to con-
Affairs Council, 25 January 2021. https://     trol export of Covid-19 vaccines across Bor-
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/           der into North amid outcry. IT, 30 January
fac/2021/01/25/                                2021.    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/
GOV.UK International Affairs Appoint-          health/eu-backs-down-on-plan-to-control-
ments in No.10 and Cabinet Office, 29          export-of-covid-19-vaccines-across-border-
January 2021. https://www.gov.uk/gov-          into-north-amid-outcry-1.4471366
ernment/news/intenational-affairs-appoint-     BBC EU vaccine export row: Bloc back-
ments-in-no10-and-cabinet-office               tracks on controls for NI. BBC, 30 January
Irish Times EU move on NI protocol in          2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-
‘very bitter’ vaccine row a mistake, says      55865539
Martin, IT, 31 January 2021. https://www.      RTE Foster says EU move ‘disgraceful’, urges
irishtimes.com/news/politics/eu-move-on-
                                               Johnson to replace NI Protocol. RTE, 30 Jan-
ni-protocol-in-very-bitter-vaccine-row-a-
                                               uary 2021. https://www.rte,ie/news/coronavi-
mistake-says-martin-1.4472175
                                               rus/2021/0130/1194003-coronavirus-vaccines/

                                                              BREXIT BRIEF 103 | FEB 2021
BREXIT
BRIEF

Sunday Times Union in crisis as polls reveal    The Guardian Move to EU to avoid Brex-
voters want referendum on Scottish inde-        it costs, firms told. Guardian, 23 January
pendence and united Ireland. The Times, 23      2021. https://www.theguardian.com/poli-
January 2021. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/       tics/2021/jan/23/brexit-hit-firms-advised-
article/union-in-crisis-as-poll-reveals-vot-    government-officials-set-up-shop-in-eu
ers-want-referendum-on-scottish-indepen-
                                                The Guardian Brexit: British business lead-
dence-and-united-ireland-wwzpdlg7b
                                                ers warn of ‘substantial difficulties’ at UK
BBC How Brexit shapes people’s views on         ports. Guardian, 29 January 2021. https://
Scottish independence. BBC, 26 January          www.theguardian.com/business/2021/
2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scot-         jan/28/british-business-leaders-warn-of-
land-scotland-politics-55803103                 substantial-difficulties-at-uk-ports

Irish Times Nicola Sturgeon: ‘Brexit makes      Financial Times UK finds itself backed
a united Ireland more likely.’ IT, 29 January   into a corner in diplomat row with Brussels.
2021. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/       FT, 29 January 2021. https://www.ft,com/
nicola-sturgeon-brexit-makes-a-united-ire-      content/3f01fa39-9384-41c5-91b0-35ff-
land-more-likely-1.4470488                      2c787f04

Irish Times Brexit protocol-driven scar-        The Guardian Brussels warns Britain
cities drive North towards discontent. IT,      against downgrading EU ambassador’s sta-
28 January 2021. https://www.irishtimes.        tus. Guardian, 25 January 2021. https://
com/news/politics/brexit-protocol-driv-         www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/25/
en-scarcities-drive-north-towards-discon-       brussels-warns-britain-against-downgrad-
tent-1.4469414                                  ing-eu-ambassador-status

Irish Times More than half in North want        RTE EU’s ambassador to UK to be
vote on a united Ireland, poll finds. IT, 25    granted ‘privileges’. RTE, 21 January
January    2021.   https://www.irishtimes.      2 0 2 1 . h t t p s : / / w w w. r t e . i e / n e w s / b r e x-
com/news/politics/more-thsn-half-in-            it/2021/0121/1191147-brexit-politics/
north-want-vote-on-a-united-ireland-poll-
finds-1.4466547                                 Financial Times Boris Johnson vows to busi-
                                                ness he will seize ‘opportunities of Brexit’.
Politico David Frost stays in the Brexit        FT, 18 January 2021. https://www.ft.com/
driver’s seat. Politico, 30 January 2021.       content/1c4942da-5849-4082-b15e-ea78f-
https://www.politico.eu/article/dvid-frost-     73c7f9b
brexit-driving-seat/
                                                BBC Brexit: Government considers scrap-
Financial Times EU to seek more time            ping some EU labour laws. BBC, 20 Janu-
to ratify trade deal with UK. FT, 23 Janu-      ary 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/busi-
ary 2021. https://www.ft.com/content/           ness-55725720
a093a913-b230-4559-80a2-8b5a55bf81c3
                                                BBC UK not going to do anything to make EU
RTE Extension sought for ratification of        ‘go crazy’. BBC, 18 January 2021. https://
EU-UK free trade deal. RTE, 18 Janu-            www.bbc.com/news/business-55711845
ary 2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/brex-
it/2021/0118/1190460-brexit-free-trade/

                                                                      BREXIT BRIEF 103 | FEB 2021
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BRIEF

Irish Times Credit analysts say UK econ-                             jan/18/fishing-trucks-protest-at-westmin-
omy will shrink as Brexit deal ‘lacks sub-                           ster-against-brexit-red-tape
stance’. IT, 26 January 2021. https://www.
                                                                     Financial Times Brexit leaves UK and EU
irishtimes,com/business/economy/credit-
                                                                     diminished in fight against international
analysts-say-uk-economy-will-shrink-as-
                                                                     crime. FT, 26 January 2021. https://www.
brexit-deal-lacks-substance-1.4467228
                                                                     ft.com/content/187b2559-f6bc-4a8a-8610-
Financial Times Sadiq Khan: Financial ser-                           d9802fd80f17
vices have been badly let down by Brexit.
FT, 18 January 2021. https://www.ft.com/                             Politico The bureaucratic battle to make
content/96070a44-192a-4607-a6d1-ea-                                  the Brexit deal work. Politico, 26 January
5053b53aa2                                                           2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/brex-
                                                                     it-deal-bureaucracy-trade-policy/
Telegraph Brussels warns UK over ‘light
touch’ regulation of City after Brexit. Tele-                        BBC Brexit: NI Protocol ‘obstructs free move-
graph, 19 January 2021. https://www.                                 ment of military’. BBC, 30 January 2021.
telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/01/19/                                 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ire-
brussels-warns-uk-light-touch-regulation-                            land-55849864
city-brexit/                                                         RTE NI Protocol ‘unaffected’ by new vac-
The Guardian Brexit has driven 2,500 fi-                             cine measures planned by EU. RTE, 30
nance jobs and €170 billion to France,                               January 2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/
says bank governor. Guardian, 20 January                             politics/2021/0129/1193953-north0vac-
2021. https://www.theguardian,com/poli-                              cine-brexit/
tics/2021/jan/20/brexit-has-driven-2500-                             Irish Times Less choice, less competition,
finance-jobs-and-170bn-to-france-says-                               higher prices: How Brexit will hit Irish retail.
bank-governor                                                        IT, 29 January 2021. https://www.irishtimes.
Irish Times ‘Brexodus’ of jobs from City                             com/business/economy/less-choice-less-
of London to continue, says EU commis-                               competition-higher-prices-how-brexit-will-hit-
sioner. IT, 20 January 2021. https://www.                            irish-retail-1.4470424
irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/                          RTE Brexit deal unfair on fishing com-
brexodus-of-jobs-from-city-of-london-to-
                                                                     munities- McConalogue. RTE, 22 Janu-
continue-says-eu-commissioner-1.4462606
                                                                     ary 2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/brex-
The Guardian ‘Absolute carnage’: EU                                  it/2021/0122/1191422-brexit-fisheries/
hauliers reject UK jobs over Brexit rules.
                                                                     Irish Times Ireland ‘not at all happy’ about
Guardian, 20 January 2021. https://www.
                                                                     ‘disproportionate’ fish quota loss – Minister.
theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/20/ab-
                                                                     IT, 23 January 2021. https://www.irishtimes.
solute-carnage-eu-hauliers-reject-uk-jobs-
                                                                     com/news/politics/ireland-not-at-all-happy-
over-brexit-rules
                                                                     about-disproportionate-fish-quota-loss-min-
The Guardian Seafood lorries travel to                               ister-1.4465353
Westminster for protest against Brexit red
                                                                     RTE Difficulties with NI protocol ‘predicted’
tape. Guardian, 18 January 2021. https://
                                                                     months ago, says Foster. RTE, 23 Janu-
w w w. t h e g u a r d i a n . c o m / p o l i t i c s / 2 0 2 1 /
                                                                     ary 2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/brex-

                                                                                     BREXIT BRIEF 103 | FEB 2021
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it/2021/0122/1191365-brexit/                     bring-trade-to-standstill-and-threatren-
                                                 economy--irish-truckers-say-1.4464291
RTE Foster says topic of border poll is ‘ab-
solutely reckless’. RTE, 24 January 2021.        Irish Times Empty shelves in the North
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/012         are because of Covid, not Brexit, says
4/1191682-uk-polls-northern-ireland-scot-        Lewis. IT, 19 January 2021. https://www.
land-independence/                               irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/
                                                 empty-shelves-in-the-north-are-because-
Irish Times Ireland’s relationship with Brit-
                                                 of-covid-not-brexit-says-lewis-1.4462081
ain ‘will always be close and special’- Taoi-
seach. IT, 21 January 2021. https://www.         Irish Times Fishermen fear London will
irishtimes.com/news/politics/ireland-s-rela-     deny North fair share of extra fish Brex-
tionship-with-britain-will-always-be-close-      it quota. IT, 20 January 2021. https://
and-special-1.4463472                            www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusi-
                                                 ness-and-food/fishermen-fear-london-will-
Irish Times North slowly becoming part of
                                                 deny-north-fair-share-of-extra-fish-brexit-
a united Ireland; says former British chan-
                                                 quota-1.4462653
cellor. IT, 20 January 2021. https://www.
irishtimes.com/news/politics/north-slowly-       Irish Times Taxes, delays and brokerage
becoming-part-of-united-ireland-says-for-        fees: The grim reality of post-Brexit online
mer-british-chancellor-4463045                   shopping. IT, 25 January 2021. https://www.
                                                 irishtimes.com/news/consumer/taxes-de-
Irish Times Businesses must deal with
                                                 lays-and-brokerage-fees-thr-grim-reality-
post-Brexit trade ‘challenges’ – Barnier.
                                                 of-post-brexit-online-shopping-1.4463079
IT, 22 January 2021. https://www.irish-
times.com/business/businesses-must-deal-
with-post-brexit-trade-challenges-barni-         Further Reading
er-1.4464310
                                                 Charlton Michael The Price of Victory. BBC
Irish Times Starmer gives British Labour a
lesson in Irish history. IT, 21 January 2021.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/starm-
er-gives-british-labour-a-lesson-in-irish-
history-1.4463463

Irish Times Irish officials raise queries with
EU over disruptive post-Brexit ‘rules of or-
igin’. IT, 18 January 2021. https://www.
irishtimes.com/business/irish-officials-
raise-queries-with-eu-over-disruptive-post-
brexit-rules-of-origin-1.4460634

Irish Times Brexit checks will bring trade to
standstill and threaten economy, Irish truck-
ers say. IT, 21 January 2021. https://www.
irishtimes.com/business/brexit-checks-will-

                                                                BREXIT BRIEF 103 | FEB 2021
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