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| Brexit: EU hits out at 'irresponsible' London over Northern Ireland | Brexit: EU hits out at 'irresponsible' London over Northern Ireland |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The European commission has accused UK decision-makers of being “completely irresponsible” over Northern Ireland as the main unionist and nationalist parties in the region clashed over the future of the Good Friday agreement. | The European commission has accused UK decision-makers of being “completely irresponsible” over Northern Ireland as the main unionist and nationalist parties in the region clashed over the future of the Good Friday agreement. |
| With the problem of avoiding a hard border with the Republic continuing to hamper negotiations, and Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party openly sparring over the sanctity of the 1998 peace accord, the commission’s vice president, Frans Timmermans, condemned the attitude in Westminster. | |
| “It is central to our responsibility to do as little harm as possible in these negotiations,” Timmermans said. “And to just brush it aside in London is completely irresponsible.” | “It is central to our responsibility to do as little harm as possible in these negotiations,” Timmermans said. “And to just brush it aside in London is completely irresponsible.” |
| The commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said: “When it comes to the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, we are sticking to the point of view that we have expressed so many times: Ireland first.” | |
| The outspoken comments came as the Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald, accused the DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, of showing a reckless disregard for “peace, prosperity and progress” by questioning the sanctity of the Good Friday agreement | The outspoken comments came as the Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald, accused the DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, of showing a reckless disregard for “peace, prosperity and progress” by questioning the sanctity of the Good Friday agreement |
| Foster had told the Daily Telegraph she had found it “deeply frustrating to hear people who voted remain and in Europe talk about Northern Ireland as though we can’t touch the Belfast agreement”. She added: “Things evolve, even in the EU context.” | Foster had told the Daily Telegraph she had found it “deeply frustrating to hear people who voted remain and in Europe talk about Northern Ireland as though we can’t touch the Belfast agreement”. She added: “Things evolve, even in the EU context.” |
| McDonald responded that the peace deal should not become a bargaining chip in the Brexit talks. “It should be remembered that Arlene Foster left the UUP [Ulster Unionist party], which supported the Good Friday agreement, to join the anti-agreement DUP,” she said. “It appears the DUP leader has learned nothing over the past 15 years.” | McDonald responded that the peace deal should not become a bargaining chip in the Brexit talks. “It should be remembered that Arlene Foster left the UUP [Ulster Unionist party], which supported the Good Friday agreement, to join the anti-agreement DUP,” she said. “It appears the DUP leader has learned nothing over the past 15 years.” |
| The UK and the commission have agreed that there needs to be a backstop solution to avoiding a hard border. It would kick in after Brexit and the transition period ending in December 2020 should a trade deal or technological solution not be available by that point. | The UK and the commission have agreed that there needs to be a backstop solution to avoiding a hard border. It would kick in after Brexit and the transition period ending in December 2020 should a trade deal or technological solution not be available by that point. |
| Theresa May has said that no British prime minister could accept the commission’s proposal to allow Northern Ireland to maintain key benefits of EU membership by remaining in the bloc’s customs union and under single market legislation. | Theresa May has said that no British prime minister could accept the commission’s proposal to allow Northern Ireland to maintain key benefits of EU membership by remaining in the bloc’s customs union and under single market legislation. |
| She instead said Whitehall would soon put forward a new proposal under which the whole of the UK would remain temporarily in a customs arrangement. Stormont would also be asked if it wanted to stay under EU single market rules. | She instead said Whitehall would soon put forward a new proposal under which the whole of the UK would remain temporarily in a customs arrangement. Stormont would also be asked if it wanted to stay under EU single market rules. |
| Other key figures, including the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, have claimed that the issue has been overblown. | Other key figures, including the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, have claimed that the issue has been overblown. |
| Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg, Timmermans said he was astonished by the failure in the UK to see the importance of EU membership to keeping the peace in Northern Ireland. | Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg, Timmermans said he was astonished by the failure in the UK to see the importance of EU membership to keeping the peace in Northern Ireland. |
| The former Dutch foreign minister told MEPs: “How is it possible that people coming from the UK maintain that there is no link between union and the Good Friday agreement. The European Union is an integral part of the success of the Good Friday agreement. | The former Dutch foreign minister told MEPs: “How is it possible that people coming from the UK maintain that there is no link between union and the Good Friday agreement. The European Union is an integral part of the success of the Good Friday agreement. |
| “It would not have been possible without the European Union. The Good Friday agreement was one of the most historical achievements … We are all responsible for maintaining that legacy and preventing the island of Ireland from going to a past that I knew as a young man.” | “It would not have been possible without the European Union. The Good Friday agreement was one of the most historical achievements … We are all responsible for maintaining that legacy and preventing the island of Ireland from going to a past that I knew as a young man.” |
| The DUP campaigned against the Good Friday agreement when it was resoundingly endorsed in polls on both sides of the border. Parts of the deal have been altered by subsequent political agreements in Northern Ireland, such as the 2006 St Andrews agreement. | The DUP campaigned against the Good Friday agreement when it was resoundingly endorsed in polls on both sides of the border. Parts of the deal have been altered by subsequent political agreements in Northern Ireland, such as the 2006 St Andrews agreement. |
| The DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson later told RTÉ his party was “not seeking to alter” the peace agreement but that parts of the north-south cooperation aspect would change if Britain crashed out of the EU. | The DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson later told RTÉ his party was “not seeking to alter” the peace agreement but that parts of the north-south cooperation aspect would change if Britain crashed out of the EU. |
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