Most Brits think EU is to blame for post-Brexit deal issues, poll finds

Less than a third of British voters think Boris Johnson’s government is to blame for post-Brexit trade issues, a new poll has revealed.

Most voters, accounting for 45 per cent of respondents, think the EU is guilty for the problems in implementing the Northern Ireland protocol.

By comparison, only 31 per cent think it’s UK’s fault, a Redfield and Wilton Strategies poll has found for Politico.

Unaware

Meanwhile, the poll has also revealed a big part of Brits do not know of any post-Brexit problems between the UK and the EU – with one in four voters completely unaware of Northern Ireland protocol issues, and most others lacking full awareness of the problems.

The problems under discussion are related to checks on goods sent from the UK to Northern Ireland.

The EU has paused legal action against UK’s alleged breaches of the deal agreed last year. The move was hailed for allowing solutions to be found by Northern Ireland’s first minister Paul Givan.

But the government rejected the EU’s proposals to reduce checks because it would mean following EU standards.

Breach

Earlier this year, EU officials hinted that the UK government may not have intended to keep its promises as part of the deal, in a meeting attended by The London Economic.

Austrian MEP Andreas Schieder, rapporteur for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, said: “Only a partnership in which both sides stick to their commitments has a future”.

During the meeting, the European Parliament condemned the UK’s “unilateral actions that are in breach of the Withdrawal Agreement”.

They warned one of the EP’s priorities is to preserve peace in island of Ireland when establishing the future EU-UK relationship.

MEPs called on the UK government to “act in good faith and fully implement the terms of the agreements which it has signed’, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Agreement

They also said the European Parliament would be closely monitoring how the agreement is applied, to ensure its views will be taken into account.

Christophe Hansen, rapporteur for the Committee on International Trade, said: “Ratification of the agreement is not a vote of blind confidence in the UK government’s intention to implement our agreements in good faith.

“Rather, it is an EU insurance policy against further unilateral deviations from what was jointly agreed. Parliament will remain vigilant.

During another meeting attended by TLE in April, Barry Andrews, the Irish MEP for Dublin said: “I am afraid the current brand of English Conservatives that is leading the British government has an unfortunate history with regards to international agreements.”

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Andra Maciuca

Andra is a multilingual, award-winning NQJ senior journalist and the UK’s first Romanian representing co-nationals in Britain and reporting on EU citizens for national news. She is interested in UK, EU and Eastern European affairs, EU citizens in the UK, British citizens in the EU, environmental reporting, ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility. She has contributed articles to VICE, Ethical Consumer and The New European and likes writing poetry, singing, songwriting and playing instruments. She studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield and has a Masters in International Business and Management from the University of Manchester. Follow her on: