The UK wants to break the Northern Ireland Open Treaty

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may want to break the existing treaty with Northern Ireland in order to reach an agreement with the European Union. This writes Bloomberg. Previously, the United Kingdom was still strongly opposed to such a treaty change.

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Geoffrey Donaldson, called it “unacceptable” in the British House of Commons today that European laws were passed in Northern Ireland without any mutual prior consent.

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Donaldson said he then asked Sunak if the British prime minister could assure him that these constitutional problems would be addressed, “and not just by a slight modification of the Brexit protocol”. “But by rewriting the entire binding treaty.”

‘Clear and loud’

Sunak said he understood the question “loud and clear” and had asked policymakers about the possibilities regarding the constitutional and legal framework in which the Northern Ireland Protocol resides. And he wants to change that. “It is an essential part of the negotiations with the European Union,” said Sunak, who declined to discuss details.

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The fact that Sunak is facing a challenge can be called an understatement. Government representatives from both the UK and the EU have indicated that the existing Brexit treaty will not be amended in any way if a deal is reached. Instead, it makes sense for the UK and EU to amend their laws to implement a possible new protocol for Northern Ireland.