EU Refuses to Renegotiate Post-Brexit Trading with UK

The European Commission issued a statement saying that it will not agree to renegotiate the Protocol concluded with the United Kingdom regarding post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, according to European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

"We will continue to engage with the UK, also on the suggestions made today. We are ready to continue to seek creative solutions, within the framework of the Protocol, in the interest of all communities in Northern Ireland. However, we will not agree to a renegotiation of the Protocol," Sefcovic said.

In late June, the UK Supreme Court in Belfast saw that the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was negotiated as part of the Brexit settlement, is legal. This goes despite discontent from pro-UK unionists who challenged this Protocol. The Protocol requires checks on goods between the British mainland and Northern Ireland, which remains part of the EU customs area.

In October 2019, the British parliament approved the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, also known as Brexit, after 329 MPs supported it and 299 opposed it.