In light of the loyalists` announcement, the spokesman added that the government remained „fully committed“ to the 1998 peace agreement „in all its dimensions.“ In the pamphlet published by the right-wing think tank Centre for Policy Studies, Gove described the deal as a „Trojan horse.“ Loyalist paramilitary groups have told the British and Irish governments that they are withdrawing their support for the Good Friday Agreement to protest Northern Ireland`s trade border with the Irish Sea with the rest of the UK. „If the UK simply cannot be trusted because it acts unilaterally unexpectedly without negotiations, then the British government leaves the EU with no choice but to take legal action,“ Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told RTE radio on Thursday. Michael Gove, the former environment secretary, described the Good Friday Agreement in 2000 as a „denial of our national integrity.“ The „Price of Peace“, an analysis of British policy in Northern Ireland, is a lengthy critique of the framework of the agreement, British policy in securing the agreement and Ireland`s role in Northern Ireland in the Northern Ireland peace process, written for the Centre for Policy Studies. Johnson`s spokesman denied that the government was violating the Brexit treaty by extending the grace period for supermarkets by six months. Britain has rubbed shoulders with the terms of the Brexit deal signed in January 2020, part of which keeps its Northern Ireland territory in the EU`s customs territory and essentially creates a customs border in the Irish Sea. „After Loughgall and Drumnakilly, the government had become cautious and concerned about the shooting allegations,“ he said. Without a prior agreement with the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson`s government said it was extending a grace period after Brexit and postponing controls on agribusiness entering Northern Ireland from the UK, undermining a key element of the divorce pact. The changes have led to widespread confusion among businesses, as some British suppliers refuse to ship goods across the Irish Sea. The loyalist letter came amid renewed resentment between Downing Street and Brussels over the government`s unilateral act of giving Northern Irish businesses time to adjust to post-Brexit rules. Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said it was a „breach“ of the Withdrawal Agreement. The Irish government said London was „not helpful“. „Please do not underestimate the strength of feelings on this issue throughout the Unionist family. Accordingly, I have been ordered to inform you that loyalist groups are hereby withdrawing their support for the Belfast Agreement until our rights under the Agreement are restored and the Protocol is amended to ensure unhindered access to goods, services and citizens throughout the United Kingdom.
If you or the EU are not ready to comply with the entire agreement, then you are responsible for the permanent destruction of the agreement. „Everything we do will have the protection and implementation of the agreement at its core, including, of course, when we leave the European Union. The Loyalist Communities Council, an umbrella organisation representing the views of the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando, has written a letter to Boris Johnson and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin warning of a „permanent destruction“ of the 1998 peace agreement without any changes to post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland. The British government has insisted it is taking „reasonable and practical steps“ to resolve the trade issues that have plagued Northern Ireland since Brexit came into full force, denying that it was violating its EU divorce treaty. Still valid: „If the UK authorities violate or threaten to breach the Withdrawal Agreement through UK Internal Market Law. or otherwise, the European Parliament will under no circumstances ratify an agreement between the EU and the UK“ 11.9. Gove`s views are „a fanatical unionist protest against the deal,“ said Brendan O`Leary, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and an adviser to the British Labour Party and the Irish government in the years leading up to the signing of the deal in 1998. „If you or the EU are not willing to abide by the entire (Good Friday) agreement, then you will be responsible for the permanent destruction of the agreement,“ the paramilitary council said in a letter to Johnson. The warning came hours after the British government was accused by the European Commission of violating international law for the second time, after ministers said the UK would act unilaterally to give Northern Irish businesses time to adjust to the rules after Brexit. The letter says unionist opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol – the part of the Brexit deal that keeps Northern Ireland as part of the EU`s single market for goods – should remain „peaceful and democratic“.
However, the decision to withdraw support for a peace deal that underpins power-sharing in Northern Ireland appears to be sounding the alarm in Dublin, London and Brussels. He said the protocol violated the guarantees of the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, to protect the status of both communities. Loyalist resentment was comparable to that of 1985, when Unionists and Loyalists held mass rallies against the Anglo-Irish agreement, Campbell said. On the contrary, the EU argues that controls are necessary to preserve Northern Ireland`s special place in the context of Brexit and to protect itself from goods entering the single market through the porous border with EU member Ireland. Loyalist paramilitary groups supported the Good Friday Agreement and have no desire to revive unrest. But elements of the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando are an obscure presence in Northern Ireland, and some are linked to crime. „This type of operational action is widespread and common in other international trade agreements and is consistent with our intention to comply in good faith with our obligations under the Protocol,“ he said. Stephen Farry, an MP from the Centrist Alliance Party, said the withdrawal of loyalists from the Good Friday Agreement was a political and symbolic gesture. „However, this has no practical consequences. The agreement is based on the double referendums of 1998.
I am more concerned about the continued escalation of rhetoric and the accumulation of unrealistic expectations that the protocol can be replaced in the absence of a plausible alternative. The Scottish Brexit campaigner said the deal was a „rigged referendum“, a „deadly horror“ and „a humiliation of our army, police and parliament“. .