Boris Johnson is choosing a fight over Brexit at a very risky moment

Boris Johnson’s decision to engage in a Brexit-related fight with his old opponent, the European Union, may appear unusual.

Johnson currently has a lot on his plate.

The British Prime Minister’s personal ratings have been pummeling by the “Partygate” scandal, a cost-of-living crisis is affecting millions of his compatriots, and he’s taking the lead in helping Ukraine combat Russia’s invasion.

Despite this, the British government has spent much of this week promoting the possibility of overturning a crucial aspect of the Brexit deal that Johnson negotiated and signed with the EU in 2019.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the safeguard in question, which was put in place to keep the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland open.

It reduced the chance of sectarian bloodshed returning to the island of Ireland.

The protocol is not working for a variety of reasons, including the refusal of Northern Ireland’s Unionists to establish a power-sharing administration with the Republican Sinn Fein party.

Last week, Sinn Fein won Northern Ireland’s legislative elections for the first time in history.

Officials in Brussels, however, feel this is just the latest excuse London is using to ignore the protocol.

To the EU’s chagrin, the British government has yet to fully implement the agreement.

It is unclear what the British government intends to do in the near future.

The protocol has instruments, the most notable of which is Article 16, which allows the EU and UK to unilaterally suspend portions of the treaty and initiate a consultation if one party considers it is not functioning correctly.

According to Catherine Barnard, a professor of European law at Trinity College, Cambridge, EU can deploy rebalancing measures if the UK “lawfully activates Article 16 due to trade disruption.”

The greater concern in Brussels is that the UK would pass domestic legislation that simply overturns the convention.

She added, “In that instance, the EU could bring enforcement procedures or even go so far as terminating parts of the trade deal that the UK and EU agreed in 2019. And that means tariffs.”