Boris Johnson. File photoLONDON, May 17. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he did not consider a trade war with the EU likely due to a unilateral change in the protocol with the EU on Northern Ireland. Earlier on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced that the government will introduce a bill in parliament in the coming weeks to amend the protocol with the EU on Northern Ireland.Britain threatens EU over Northern Ireland «I don't think it's likely, but we need to address the political issues… We really need to get rid of relatively small trade barriers,» Johnson told Sky News, when asked not to whether the changes will lead to a trade war with the European Union. The UK government in July 2021 said that the protocol with the EU on Northern Ireland in the current format «does not work and does not achieve its goals» and London wants to make significant changes to it. In particular, they concern the introduction of a stricter and more targeted approach to the entry of goods from the UK into the EU single market. Earlier, in a conversation with EC Vice President Maros Sefcovic, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said that if the EU does not show the necessary flexibility on the situation around the North Republic of Ireland, the country's government will be forced to take action. The situation around Northern Ireland escalated after the Northern Irish Sinn Féin party, which advocates unification with Ireland, won the majority of seats in the elections to the legislative assembly of the region, becoming the first nationalist party to take the Northern Ireland Assembly over its 101-year history. As a result, the Northern Ireland Assembly was unable to elect a new speaker, as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocked his election as part of their protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol. The DUP lost support among unionists due to its reactions to Brexit and trade agreements with Northern Ireland, and this led to a vote split among the country's three unionist parties. For the first time, Sinn Féin called for a referendum in Northern Ireland on reunification with the Republic of Ireland in 2016, after Britain voted to leave the European Union . The Irish authorities have said that after reunification, Northern Ireland will regain EU membership. In 2019, before Brexit, Sinn Féin repeated the call for a referendum. Ireland was partitioned in May 1921, after which an independent region of Northern Ireland was created within the UK.
Sinn Féin wins first election in Northern Ireland
