The leader of Sinn Féin admitted to Sky News that the current protocol for Northern Ireland creates problems for business.
Speaking to Sky News’s Beth Rigby interview program, party President Mary Lou MacDonald said that “the fact that Brexit has caused this blizzard of paper is problematic in some cases.”
Ms MacDonald also said the UK’s proposal to “break the law” was an “extremely dangerous place” and that she “absolutely” believed that a border study – a referendum on reunification – would take place over the next decade.
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Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Liz Truss outlined plans to change the protocol.
She told the municipality that the United Kingdom was facing a “very difficult and serious situation” and that without the UK government resolving the problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, Stormont’s executive power could not be restored.
Britain says it does not want to abandon the agreement and would prefer to reach an agreement with the EU, but says elements in it need to be fixed and negotiations will continue.
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But Sinn Fein, who became the first nationalist party to win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in its 101-year history earlier this month, said the bill would violate international law.
Sinn Fein has accused the UK government of coordinating the “obstructionist tactics” of its political opponents in the DUP, who are unhappy with the protocol governing post-Brexit trade agreements in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, Ms MacDonald said: “I think the British government’s decision to go beyond the international, which is actually worse than passing law-breaking laws, is an extremely dangerous place. .
“I think he’s really showing bad faith, in fact I think he’s reinforcing the kind of bad faith we’ve seen from the Boris Johnson government since Brexit, and he’s certainly not doing anything, let me say, he’s not doing anything to help much-needed people. the aim of an urgent and immediate establishment of an executive government in Northern Ireland. “
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Asked if she acknowledged why the DUP felt offended, Ms MacDonald continued: “Well, let me deal with each of these issues in turn – the owner of the delicacy, the documents, the fact that Brexit caused this blizzard of paper in some cases, it is problematic, I admit this.
“As was the problem with medicines, for example, and any question marks about people’s ability to access the medicines they need.
“The issue of medicines was resolved before Christmas. There is a proposal from the European Commission on the issue of the paper weight of the table, this must be considered. “
Image: Sinn Fein accuses the UK government of coordinating the “obstructionist tactics” of its DUP political opponents, who are unhappy with the protocol
The DUP wants to see the problems with the protocol resolved before it enters a power-sharing administration – and party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said after meeting with the prime minister earlier this week that decisive action must be taken.
The protocol, an agreement designed to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, means that some goods imported into Northern Ireland from the UK are subject to customs controls, which in effect creates a new border in the Irish Sea.
Read more: What is power sharing and why does Northern Ireland use it, what is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?
Ms MacDonald also told Beth Rigby that it was “the job of both governments” to allow the Irish people to “shape and decide” their future together.
“Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, I believe we will see constitutional changes in probably the next decade, there is no doubt about that and we must prepare for this and the appetite for change in Ireland would really lift your heart, the opportunity that exists for our country “And we need to bring our union brothers and sisters on this path with us,” she said.
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1:07 Ministers will amend the NI Act
Ms MacDonald added that her party “needed an indication from the British government on how they could measure when they would consider it appropriate or the time for a border survey”.
Britain has been warned that a unilateral withdrawal from the protocol could jeopardize a broader free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Europe, raising the prospect of a trade war.
European Commission Vice-President Maros Shefcovic said the legislative plan was “unacceptable” and that Brussels would respond with all the measures at its disposal.
Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Cowney said that unilateral action was “credible and would only make it harder to find solutions to the real concerns that people in Northern Ireland have about how the protocol is being implemented”.
Speaking to reporters in Westminster, meanwhile, the European Union’s ambassador to the United Kingdom warned that Brussels would not change its mandate and resume negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol after Ms Truss called on the EU to change its mandate. to be fundamentally rewritten.
“We have been told that we need to get a new mandate, but I can tell you very clearly that what the Member States are telling us is very simple: you do not need a mandate and even if you ask for one, you will not get it.” said Joao Valle de Almeida.
Beth Rigby Interviews is live at 9pm every Thursday on Sky News.
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