EU taking ‘very belligerent approach’ to issues caused by NI Protocol - Arlene Foster

Arlene Foster also said “something had to give”, and the UK had to take action and extend a grace period limiting red tape associated with the movement of goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mrs Foster said: “They have taken a very belligerent approach to the difficulties the protocol have caused for Northern Ireland.

“It was quite clear to me that there wasn’t going to be a meeting of minds. So the UK Government was going to have to take action, given that the grace period for goods in terms of supermarkets ended at the end of this month.”

Mrs Foster said: “The number of checks that are occurring between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are so disproportionate to the risk to the EU single market that it has become completely out of step with what the protocol was meant to do.”

“The protocol was meant to do two things. It was meant to protect the single market of the European Union, and it was meant to protect the Belfast agreement, and frankly, it is disproportionately doing one and damaging the other.”

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