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The EU HAS taken a “very belligerent approach” to the difficulties caused by the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, the DUP leader said.
Arlene Foster also said that “something had to give”, and the UK had to take action and extend a grace period to limit the red tape associated with the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister added that she was “not entirely surprised” by the threat from the EU to take legal action on the matter.
Earlier today, the EU warned that it will take legal action “very soon” following the UK’s move to unilaterally delay the implementation of part of the Brexit deal related to Northern Ireland.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today show, Foster said: “They have taken a very belligerent approach to the difficulties that the protocol has caused in Northern Ireland.
“It was pretty clear to me that there was not going to be a meeting of minds. Therefore, the UK government was going to have to take action as the grace period for products in terms of supermarkets ended at the end of this month. “
Foster said: “The number of checks that are taking place between Britain and Northern Ireland is so disproportionate to the risk to the EU single market that it is completely out of date with what the protocol was supposed to do.” .
“The protocol was meant to do two things. It was meant to protect the European Union’s single market, and it was meant to protect the Belfast agreement, and quite frankly, it is disproportionately doing one and damaging the other. “
Legal action
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said the British government’s announcement on Wednesday had been a “very negative surprise.”
Cabinet Office Minister David Frost said the UK was extending a series of “grace periods” designed to facilitate trade between Northern Ireland, which remains in the EU’s single market for goods, and Greater Britain while permanent agreements are being worked out.
It sparked a furious response in Brussels, with the EU accusing Britain of backtracking on its treaty obligations in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement aimed at ensuring there is no return from a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Sefcovic, who is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the deal, said that the European Commission was now working on “infringement proceedings” against the UK.
“We are currently preparing it and it really would be something that would come to our table very soon. The most precise term I can give you is really very soon, ”he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has downplayed the dispute
Source: House of Commons via PA Images
His warning came after Boris Johnson had tried to downplay the dispute, saying that the British government was simply taking some “temporary and technical measures” to ensure that trade kept flowing.
“I am sure that with a little good will and common sense all these technical problems are eminently solvable,” he said yesterday.
However, MEPs in the European Parliament have already taken steps to delay formal ratification of the broader trade and cooperation agreement between Britain and the EU pending the outcome of the latest dispute.
The Northern Ireland protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement was designed by the EU and the UK to prevent a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland.
It means keeping Northern Ireland aligned with various EU rules, requiring controls on goods arriving in the region from Great Britain.
Ireland yesterday criticized the UK’s decision to unilaterally extend the grace period, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “disappointed” by the decision. ”
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it “clearly undermines” previous commitments made last week.
In a statement last night, Martin said: “I am disappointed that the British government today announced unilateral action related to the Protocol. Issues related to the Protocol should be resolved by the UK and the EU working together, through the Joint Committee.
“We have continuously worked in support of efforts to find reasonable means of implementing the Protocol that respond to the identified challenges. We will continue to do so, but unilateral action undermines the confidence necessary to reach an agreement.
“I call on the British government to urgently engage with the European Commission and work to achieve agreed results.”
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Meanwhile, the White House has re-emphasized the support of the new President of the United States, Joe Biden, for the Good Friday Agreement, which the protocol is intended to protect.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: “President Biden has been unequivocal about his support for the Good Friday Agreement.
“It has been the foundation of peace, stability and prosperity for all the people of Northern Ireland.”
Before last year’s election, Biden, who is very proud of his Irish roots, warned that the deal must not become a victim of Brexit.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin
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