DUP: EU shows more concern for Russian internal market than for United Kingdom

The EU is also guilty of hypocrisy after Germany’s Chancellor demanded that European sanctions should not be imposed on goods moving to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, party leader Sir Jeffrey Donalson said.

Germany’s Premier Olaf Scholz said the EU had no right to implement sanctions on Kaliningrad because “we are dealing here with traffic between two parts of Russia.”

Sir Jeffrey contrasted the German Chancellor’s willingness to placate Russia with his country’s support inside the EU to pressurise the UK over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He said: “It is notable that the Chancellor and the European Commission as a whole appear to find measures to establish a ‘de-escalation dynamic’ with Putin’s Russia, but the United Kingdom is faced with an unyielding EU.

“We appear to face the prospect of the EU showing more concern for the functioning of the Russian internal market than for the United Kingdom’s.”

The DUP leader continued: “The vast majority of goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland will never even enter the EU’s territory, yet it demands checks and controls be placed over these.

“It is notable of course that on the one hand the German Foreign Minister is backing the inflexibility and intransigence of Simon Coveney towards the United Kingdom, yet on the other hand working to secure flexible arrangements with Russia.”

He added: “Perhaps a different approach would be taken if the UK was Germany’s largest supplier of gas.”