British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has strongly defended his government's plan to scrap parts of the Brexit deal with the European Union (EU), arguing that its "extreme" interpretation of the deal could threaten the future of Great Britain.
In a column published in the Daily Telegraph today, Johnson said the government's Single Market Bill was needed to end EU threats to impose a "blockade" in the Irish Sea which the Prime Minister said could "tear the country apart".
The bill, which the British government has admitted partially violates international law, has sparked outrage within the EU and Johnson's conservative party.
The British parliament is expected to debate it next week.
With the government showing no signs of changing course, there is concern that the two sides will not reach an agreement by December, when the post-Brexit transition period expires.
If that happens, both sides will introduce tariffs and other barriers to trade in early 2021.
The 27-nation bloc warned London two days ago that it must withdraw planned legislation on its trade with Northern Ireland by the end of September, or face a legal battle even before the end of the transition period for Britain's exit from the EU on December 31.
Less than a year ago, the two sides signed and ratified the agreement on the exit of Great Britain from the EU, and now she admits that she would violate it with her proposed Internal Market Act, which would reduce the EU's control over the trade of Northern Ireland, which is part of Great Britain and Ireland, which is a member of the EU.
It is a particularly sensitive issue as the only land border between the UK and the EU is the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Great Britain and the EU committed themselves in the Brexit agreement that there would be no customs control or other obstacles between the British region of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, so that, as London claims, there would be no division among the Irish who, after decades, had barely stopped the armed struggle against the British authorities.
Great Britain left the political structures of the EU on January 31, and the economic ones on December 31, when the 11-month transition period ends.
The two sides are trying to hammer out a new trade deal until then, but talks have bogged down over issues involving fishing rights in UK waters and fair competition rules for businesses.
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