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The new head of Northern Ireland’s largest political party, Edwin Poots, on Sunday accused the EU of calling the region a “political game” as it continued tensions between the UK and Brussels over post-Brexit trade rules.
Poots, nor became The head of the Democratic Unionist Party on Thursday argued that in the past the European Commission had put “heart and soul” into maintaining peace within the region, saying the “current set” of commissioners did not recognize the Northern Ireland peace process. .
The DUP leader promised to take a tougher stance on the Northern Ireland protocol that brought him to power, as Britain agreed to a formal exit from the EU as agreed within the 2019 treaty. It is designed to avoid the land border on the island of Ireland.
«EB [is] It is trying to punish the UK and as a result Northern Ireland is using it as a toy, ”he told the BBC Andrew Marr Show. “We are citizens of the UK, we were citizens of the European Union and we deserve to be treated with the same respect as others.”
Poots, whose antecedent Arlene wasr partly because he perceived that the protocol he threw was not tough enough, he said the UK government would have “reasons” for a provision, known as Article 16, to cancel part of the agreement called “economic and social damage”. it was very obvious. “
Article 16 allows each party to suspend parts of the agreement and may be initiated if the EU or the United Kingdom considers that the protocol is causing “economic, social or environmental difficulties”.
The head of the DUP said the protocol, which requires the region to comply with EU customs rules for goods, which forces goods going to Northern Ireland to be inspected between Britain, has been “very harmful” and should be “rejected”.
“In Northern Ireland we have violence that has not been the case over the years and that is behind this protocol,” he said, adding that the EU was acting “quickly and calmly”.
Companies in the region have complained about the higher costs and additional paperwork involved in importing and exporting. The region is also facing off higher costs for medicines when the grace period in that sector ends in October.
Earlier this month, on his first official visit to Northern Ireland, Lord David Frost, the British government’s Brexit chief minister, met with business and community members in Northern Ireland and discussed issues ranging from paperwork interruptions to supply chains.
After the meeting, Frost noted that the protocol was “presenting significant challenges“And he argued that quick solutions were needed to reduce the daily disruptions of the people of Northern Ireland.”
Responding to Poots ’criticism, Maros Sefcovic, vice chairman of the committee, said he was“ committed ”to the Good Friday Agreement, which ended in 1998 with a violent 30-year sectarian conflict. “We are really working very hard to make the protocol an option,” he told the BBC.
Sefcovic, the EU’s main EU relations chief, said Brussels was “completely flat” to ensure the protocol was properly implemented, adding that more cooperation was needed from the UK.
Unionists argue that the protocol violates the terms of the peace agreement by changing the status of Northern Ireland contained in the IFA in the GFA in Ireland.
On Friday, Sefcovic tell Financial Times reports frustration over Brussels refusing to fully establish its post in BrusselsBrexi obligations in Northern Ireland.
Sefcovic said the EU is working hard to resolve the irritants associated with the protocol, including dog driving between Northern Ireland and the UK, tariffs on steel, value-added tax on second-hand cars and more general issues. food safety controls.
However, “we still don’t have the basic answers on the UK side,” Sefcovic said.
The UK government said on Sunday it was still focused on addressing the “significant challenges” posed by the protocol.
Additional report by Javier Espinoza in Brussels
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