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The British Prime Minister has called for urgent action by the European Union to resolve the problems in the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Boris Johnson also said that Northern Ireland’s place in the UK will be “protected and strengthened.”
His comments follow the withdrawal of staff dealing with post-Brexit trade controls at the ports of Larne and Belfast for security reasons.
DUP Leader Arlene Foster will hold talks with Mr. Johnson today. She is expected to tell Mr Johnson, in a phone call this morning, why the Northern Ireland Protocol should go.
The call is part of the DUP’s campaign to undermine the Protocol.
Ms Foster will also participate in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill, British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic via videoconference.
The DUP has said it will try to unite trade unionism to campaign against the protocol and pressure the British government to remove border controls for products entering the north from Britain.
The party also said that the north-south relationship could not continue normally after the EU’s intervention last week on Article 16.
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Ms Foster said issues related to the protocol, which effectively places a border in the Irish Sea, must be addressed.
In a statement issued last night, the DUP said that the arguments put forward by the EU around the protection of the peace process and the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are not based on principles but on political opportunism.
The party promised to work with other trade unionists to send a united message to London, Brussels and Dublin that Northern Ireland must be liberated from the post-Brexit deal and its troubles.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald described the DUP’s attempt to undermine the protocol as “reckless.”
Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alianza Party want changes in the operation of the protocol but do not want it to be abandoned.
The measure is designed to prevent the return of checkpoints along the border and reduce the potential disruption to cross-border trade.
Additional reporting Tommie Gorman
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