EU threatens the UK with a ‘sausage trade war’ over Northern Ireland trade rules

The EU today threatened to launch a trade war against Britain if it fails to implement checks on goods entering Northern Ireland under the terms of the Brexit ‘divorce’ settlement.

After talks in London on averting a ‘sausage war’ ended without a breakthrough, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said patience with the UK was wearing ‘very, very thin’.

His warning came after Brexit Minister Lord Frost refused to rule out the prospect that the UK could unilaterally delay imposing checks on British-made sausages and other chilled meats due to come into force at the end of the month. 

Following three-and-a-half hours of discussions at Admiralty House, Lord Frost accused Brussels of adopting an ‘extremely purist’ approach to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

But in a press conference afterwards, Mr Sefcovic insisted the EU has shown ‘enormous patience’ in the face of ‘numerous and fundamental gaps’ in the UK’s compliance with the agreement.

It came as it emerged that Lord Frost will accompany Boris Johnson to the G7 summit in Cornwall this week to avoid a Brexit ambush by the EU.  

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the US does not want to see any action that would put at risk the Northern Ireland peace process, which the Protocol is designed to protect.

Ahead of Mr Biden’s meeting with Mr Johnson on Thursday, before the G7 summit in Cornwall, Mr Sullivan said it is up to the two sides to find an agreed way forward.

Mr Sefcovic told reporters in London that any further backtracking by the UK will be met with a resolute response.

‘Of course, as you would understand, the fact that I mentioned that we are at a crossroads means that our patience really is wearing very, very thin, and therefore we have to assess all options we have at our disposal,’ he said.

‘I was talking about the legal action, I was talking about arbitration, and of course I’m talking about the cross-retaliation.’ 

The PM has invited the Brexit Minister to Cornwall to attend meetings with EU leaders amid growing concerns a row over the Northern Ireland Protocol will overshadow the meeting of world leaders.

His attendance, first reported by Bloomberg, will be seen as an attempt to counter expected Brexit criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

Mr Johnson is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit. 

The Times reported earlier this week that Mr Biden will warn Mr Johnson not renege on the terms of the Brexit trade deal he agreed with the EU. 

US politicians have repeatedly warned that the row between Britain and Brussels over the protocol could derail a future trade deal between London and Washington.

Lord Frost’s presence at the summit would enable Mr Johnson to lean on his Brexit supremo in crunch meetings and to hit back in detail at any claims made by EU figures. 

The growing risk of the Brexit row being dragged into the G7 summit was highlighted last night after a phone call between Mr Johnson and Mrs von der Leyen. 

The President of the European Commission tweeted after the call that she had expressed her ‘deep concern’ over the implementation of the trade deal and said ‘we will discuss how to progress and ensure compliance in margins of G7’.  

The agreement – intended to ensure there is no return to a hard border with the Republic – means that Northern Ireland remains part of the EU single market, which in turn requires checks on some goods coming from Great Britain.

At a press conference this afternoon, European Commission vice president Mr Sefcovic said that the UK agreed that the Northern Ireland Protocol was the ‘best solution’.

‘Turning to the protocol on Ireland, Northern Ireland, the EU repeated today its unwavering commitment to the Good Friday Belfast Agreement,’ he told a press conference in London.

‘For this, the protocol needs to be implemented. The UK agreed to the protocol as being the best solution.

‘After four years of intensive negotiations to address the unique situation on the island of Ireland, and the challenges created by Brexit and the UK’s choice to leave the EU single market and customs union.

‘The EU and the UK agreed that the protocol was the only way to protect the Good Friday Belfast Agreement in all its parts.’

The British Government said after today’s talks it remained concerned there had been no ‘substantive progress’ in a number of areas in talks with the EU on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

In a statement following the meeting between Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic, the Government said: ‘The UK made clear its continued commitment to constructive engagement in order to find pragmatic solutions that ensure the Protocol operates in a way that safeguards the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions, minimises its impact on the day-to-day lives of communities in Northern Ireland, and maintains the integrity of the EU’s Single Market.

‘The UK will continue to put forward detailed proposals, as we have throughout this year, and looks forward to discussing any proposals the EU may put forward.

‘There is an urgent need for further discussions in order to make real progress, particularly to avoid disruption to critical supplies such as medicines.’

Earlier, Downing Street insisted there could be no justification for preventing chilled meats from the rest of the UK being sold in Northern Irish shops, while Environment Secretary George Eustice said the suggestion was ‘bonkers’.