Jacob Rees-Mogg of the United Kingdom criticizes EU methods in the NI Protocol.

Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the EU of attempting to make the UK “feel awful” in order to compel it to adhere to the Northern Ireland peace agreement reached after Brexit.

The Northern Ireland Protocol keeps the Irish border open but imposes checks on products entering Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom.

Parts of the pact agreed by the United Kingdom in 2020 are being challenged by the UK government.

However, the EU claims this is illegal and has threatened trade consequences.

Mr Rees-Mogg told that the EU’s position on the protocol was “secondary” and that the UK was free to change its mind.

The government of the Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, stated that the UK was “deliberately deciding.”

The protocol was signed by the UK and the EU in December 2020.

It entails customs checks on products travelling from Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) to Northern Ireland in order to maintain peace by avoiding the restoration of a hard border in Ireland.

This is because things could end up in the Republic of Ireland, which is still a member of the EU.

However, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which came in second place in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections last week, opposes the protocol in its current form, claiming that it has instead created a border in the Irish Sea and caused Northern Ireland to be treated differently than the rest of the UK.

The DUP has refused to enter a coalition administration with the Tories.