EU chief's remarks about Ireland and Ukraine 'inexcusable' says DUP

Diane Dodds’ letter to Ursula von der Leyen accuses the EU Commission president of setting out to “punish a neighbouring ally who took a democratic decision in 2016 you didn’t happen to like”.

The letter is a rebuke of Ms der Leyen’s speech to the Irish Parliament a week earlier.

A particular sore point for Mrs Dodds was the comparison made during that speech between Ireland and Ukraine.

The commission over which Ms von der Leyen presides is often described as the “executive” of the EU, somewhat akin to the UK cabinet or the NI Executive.

It is made up of 27 commissioners, appointed by member states. It drafts laws for the EU parliament, sets the EU budget, and represents the bloc in trade talks.

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Mrs Dodds served as one of three MEPs for Northern Ireland from 2009 to 2019.

By the time Brexit kicked in, ending her stint in the European Parliament, she was the only unionist one (the others belonging to Sinn Fein and Alliance).

Now MLA for Upper Bann, her letter to Ms von der Leyen reads as follows:

"I was alarmed to learn of your remarks in the Irish Parliament last Thursday, and in particular seeking to draw a comparison between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the UK relationship with our Irish neighbours.

"Ukraine has endured appalling suffering as a result of Russia’s grotesque action, and you will acknowledge that President Zelensky has praised the UK’s lead role in supporting his country.

"It would appear you may have been poorly advised from within your Cabinet team, but nonetheless for a role considered a diplomatic one, the Dublin remarks were inexcusable.”

In her address to the two houses of the Dublin parliament, Ms von der Leyen had said the following:

"This country knows what it means to struggle for the right to exist.

"Today, another European nation is fighting for its independence.

"Ireland is far away from the frontline in Ukraine, but you understand better than most why this war matters so much to all of us.

"Like our friends in eastern Europe, you know that in Ukraine, more is at stake than the future of only one country.

"Ukraine is fighting for freedom itself, for self-rule and for the rules-based global order."

Mrs Dodds went on to write that “a number of other elements of your Dublin speech require response and correction”.

One of them was der Leyen’s assertion that “Ireland can always count on the European Union to stand by the Good Friday Agreement”.

This, said Mrs Dodds in her letter, is “patently untrue”, adding:

"It is, on the contrary, your Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland which is the only threat to the institutions established through the 1998 Agreement.

"When you say ‘Europeans immediately understood how important it was to preserve peace on the island of Ireland’ we are both well aware where the threat of violence emanates, and who is was that revelled in a terror campaign...

“It was Irish republican terrorism that was responsible for the only hardening of the Irish border, and indeed for many years its fortification.

"Your speech also referenced the importance of bridge-building between communities, but the Protocol you sought to impose is not supported by a single Unionist MP at Westminster or Northern Ireland Assembly Member.

"Quite why in this knowledge, you would wish to forge ahead with its implementation is difficult to justify.”

Mrs Dodds ended by saying: ”Given the recent plans drawn up jointly by the European Commission and Parliament to restrict trade further with the UK, how could any objective observer conclude other than that your entire approach is driven by wishing to punish a neighbouring ally who took a democratic decision in 2016 you didn’t happen to like?"

Ms von der Leyen had been addressed in the Dublin parliament as “your excellency”, with Fianna Fail TD Seán Ó Fearghaíl dubbing her “an inspiration to women politicians here in Ireland, in Europe and indeed across the world”.

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