Most detailed (albeit unofficial sources) rebuttal to UK proposals on at risk approach to SPS under Protocol. Approach taken by EU here strikes me as a bit bizarre though not surprising. A few reasons why...1/ https://twitter.com/tconnellyRTE/status/1390595036849614851">https://twitter.com/tconnelly...

1st of course it isn& #39;t compatible with EU legislation as it stands, that& #39;s the point. If the metric to judge is, does it work within EU law then the Protocol itself would never have been agreed. Why use that metric now but not before? Who decided where the line is? 2/

2nd it is bit strange to leave assessment solely to DG Sante. There are much wider, more political considerations at play here. It would be like Defra alone deciding the UK& #39;s approach to NI 3/

3rd the message this all risks sending is that the precautionary principle is more important than some of the commitments made by the EU under the Protocol such as maintaining everyday life in NI as much as possible. 4/

Not placing blame at EU& #39;s door here, lots UK can & should be doing as I& #39;ve set out elsewhere. Just that I don& #39;t really understand what the EU has to lose by getting into a data driven risk discussion given it has already accepted the unique circumstances of NI long ago. 5/ ENDS