Northern Ireland Protocol: Maros Sefcovic’s comments ‘very unhelpful’, says UUP leader Doug Beattie

EU rhetoric and threats are pushing the UK Government closer towards unilaterally scrapping parts of the NI Protocol, UUP leader Doug Beattie warned last night.
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Mr Beattie was responding to remarks by European Commission vice-President Maros Sefcovic who threatened new penalties against Northern Ireland business if the UK takes unilateral action to change the Protocol.

Mr Sefcovic said that if the Protocol Bill becomes law then Northern Irish firms could be ejected from the EU Single Market.

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He stated that the EU would not agree to “green lane” goods from GB to NI only being totally excluded from customs posts checks when they cross the Irish Sea.

UUP leader Doug BeattieUUP leader Doug Beattie
UUP leader Doug Beattie

Mr Sefcovic also suggested it is the EU’s responsibility to protect the “public health” of people in Northern Ireland

The UUP leader described Mr Sefcovic’s latest intervention in the Protocol row as “very unhelpful”.

He said: “There can be a negotiated settlement solution, but Maros Sefcovic’s comments make it more difficult. Saying that British goods coming into Northern Ireland will always be subject to checks, and that the EU is now responsible for public health in Northern Ireland, is a step too far and one which the Ulster Unionist Party cannot accept.

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“The EU has not been handed sovereignty over Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and comments like this will only further strengthen the belief that the Protocol Bill will have to be enacted in order to secure Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. Indeed, it will be absolutely necessary to protect the Belfast Agreement in the absence of a negotiated solution.”

Mr Beattie also welcomed comments from the Rev Tom Gribben, Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, who said that the Protocol had unbalanced the “delicate settlement” of the Belfast Agreement.

The UUP leader said: “I would encourage the EU to pay heed to them. These aren’t political comments, but a dose of reality that everyone involved in negotiations must listen to.

“I respectfully remind Maros Sefcovic and his EU colleagues that if it wasn’t for the role of unionism through the Ulster Unionist Party there would never have been a Belfast Agreement.

“The Agreement was based on consensus and for anyone to now play the majoritarian card goes against every sinew of the Agreement itself.”