The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, admitted Friday that he regrets that the protocol established for Northern Ireland in the framework of the Brexit negotiations was agreed with the government of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson without a consensus between unionists and nationalists.
«The regret I have is that in the same way that Brexit was imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of the two communities, the protocol was also imposed on Northern Ireland without this support,» he stressed in statements reported by the British television network BBC.
Thus, he stressed that the European Union was willing to be «flexible» and «reasonable» in its negotiations with the United Kingdom to achieve a «more comprehensive support» in Northern Ireland in trade negotiations after Brexit.
Varadkar, who became Irish prime minister again last December, has nevertheless ventured that there is a good chance that London and Brussels will reach an agreement before the anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement.
«Economically, the protocol is working, there is no hard border between north and south, the integrity of the market has been protected and Northern Ireland’s economy outperforms that of the UK, but I can understand that unionist politicians feel that the protocol has weakened internal ties and the union between Northern Irish and British,» he said.
This protocol was established so that Northern Ireland could remain within the European common market, at the cost of establishing controls on trade with the rest of the British territories and establishing a border in the Irish Sea, something that has been harshly criticized by the unionists. The UK government has threatened to challenge the agreements if there are no new concessions from the EU.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
