Former Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost has condemned the EU for its actions, insisting that the bloc is “behaving hysterically” while many critics are questioning the point of Brexit if Britain still has to abide by EU law.
Since the divorce settlement was concluded there seems to be more questions than answers. Political commentator David Lindsay offers his take on the latest row brewing between Britain and Brussels.
Sputnik: What are your thoughts on the EU’s proposal to pursue legal action against the UK for unilaterally deciding to delay post Brexit custom checks in Northern Ireland?
David Lindsay: It was absolutely inevitable and the British government must have known this when they made that decision.
Sputnik: People are asking what was the point of Brexit if the UK is still having to abide by EU laws – what's your opinion on this?
David Linsday: Well, some of us took this view at the time and would have preferred a clean break that enabled us to exercise national sovereignty in full. This problem was entirely predictable and widely predicted.
Sputnik: Will Britain ever truly be free of the EU, or is the country severely restricted by the withdrawal agreement?
David Lindsay: While the withdrawal agreement remains in place, we are indeed severely restricted yet. We're now subject to laws over which we used to have very little say and now we have none at all. And that is, in fact, less sovereignty than we had before.
Sputnik: How often are we going to see situations like this developing between the EU and the UK?
David Lindsay: So will the Northern Ireland situation recur persistently while the provisions remain in place? Yes, whether we'll see it over anything else remains to be seen. But over the Northern Ireland situation, this is something that we're going to have to get used to.
