Steve Aiken: EU Commission leader tramples all over Belfast Agreement he claims to protect

A statement from the Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken:
By Steve Aiken
Published 17th Feb 2021, 08:10 BST
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic who told the European Affairs Committee in the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday that mistakes were made in the process leading up the EU's recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: Oireachtas TV/PA WireEuropean Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic who told the European Affairs Committee in the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday that mistakes were made in the process leading up the EU's recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: Oireachtas TV/PA Wire
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic who told the European Affairs Committee in the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday that mistakes were made in the process leading up the EU's recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: Oireachtas TV/PA Wire

The European Commission vice-president Maros Šefčovič has said that that he will be meeting business and civic leaders from Northern Ireland tomorrow,

The EU, he said, has an “unwavering” commitment to the Northern Ireland Protocol which creates the Irish Sea border

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Speaking in Dublin, Mr Šefčovič said: “We ... have to recognise the fact that we knew from the beginning that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the customs union and the single market is a massive operation, that it’s not possible to prevent all the disruption.”

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

If Mr Šefčovič is genuinely committed to protecting the Belfast Agreement, as he always insists that he is, then he cannot continue to ignore the genuine and legitimate concerns of unionists who not only negotiated that agreement, but supported and endorsed it.

The current approach of the EU and Irish government pays scant regard to building mutual trust and respect.

His announcement that he is going to engage with business and civic leaders may be a crude attempt to give the protocol a gloss of community support, but his continued side-lining and dismissal of the views of the pro-Union community is trampling all over the Belfast Agreement.

Steve Aiken OBE MLA, Ulster Unionist leader

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Related topics:Steve AikenUnited KingdomProtocolNorthern IrelandUlster Unionist PartyIrish Sea