Minister says EU will be responsible for Stormont chaos if it doesn’t rewrite NI Protocol
The EU will be responsible for indefinite Stormont chaos if it does not agree to rewrite the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, according to Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis.
In a fresh shot at Brussels for its stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol, Lewis said that the EU is putting the Good Friday Agreement at risk by not agreeing to a serious overhaul of the protocol’s text.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss has in the past month renewed her threats to unilaterally suspend the protocol if the EU does not agree to significantly rewrite the post-Brexit treaty.
The protocol is causing goods shortages in Northern Ireland due to the onerous border checks required, while also reigniting political tensions within the unionist community.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is currently blocking the opening of the Northern Irish Assembly due to their fury with the terms of the protocol, which essentially puts a border in the Irish Sea.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Lewis said: “The DUP are refusing to nominate because they’ve got a mandate through the election, as the largest party in unionism, not to nominate until the Protocol is resolved. And at the moment, the protocol, which the EU claims is about protecting the Good Friday Agreement, is the very document putting the Good Friday Agreement most at risk.”