Don’t press emergency Brexit button: EU to UK

The European Union said on Friday that Britain had made no move to seek a compromise on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland and cautioned London against triggering emergency unilateral provisions in the Brexit deal.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit negotiator David Frost ruled out immediately triggering such provisions, a move that would sour ties with the EU, concern the United States and anger Ireland. But Frost made clear he wanted Brussels to offer more.

Maros Sefcovic, a deputy head of the bloc’s executive European Commission, said the EU had “seen no move at all from the UK side.” “We hear a lot about Article 16 at the moment,” Sefcovic said after talks with Frost. “Let there be no doubt that triggering Article 16 to seek the renegotiation of the Protocol would have serious consequences.”

Britain has repeatedly warned that it may trigger emergency measures called Article 16 which allows either side to take unilateral action if they deem their agreement governing post-Brexit trade is having a strongly negative impact on their interests. Sefcovic said triggering Article 16 would lead to instability in Northern Ireland and amount to a rejection of the EU’s attempt to find a compromise.