European Union Rejects UK's Demand For New Deal On Northern Ireland

Brexit: The European Commission said that Britain had to respect its international obligations.

Britain demanded on Wednesday a new deal to oversee problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland, warning it already had the right to unilaterally ignore parts of an agreement struck with the bloc just last year. The European Commission immediately poured cold water on the plea, saying Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit minister David Frost had negotiated the protocol and Britain had to respect its international obligations. "We will not agree to a renegotiation of the Protocol," said the commission's Vice President Maros Sefcovic. The Northern Ireland protocol was part of the settlement, backed by Johnson, that finally sealed Britain's bitter divorce from the bloc, four years after British voters backed leaving in a referendum.