European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has insisted that the EU would not reopen the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, a key part of the Brexit agreement with the UK, just a day after Boris Johnson’s published a paper setting out its plans to renegotiate it. “The EU will continue to be creative and flexible within the protocol framework. But we will not renegotiate,” said von der Leyen on Thursday (22 July) after a call with Johnson. The comments come the day after Brexit minister David Frost set out a command paper which the UK hopes will form the basis of reopening parts of the protocol.