UUP Expresses 'Frustration' At Commentary Around NI Protocol

UUP Leader Doug Beattie has said the commentary around the Northern Ireland Protocol is "frustrating" but it is important to "lay out the truth".

Calling for the solutions advocated in Protocol Bill to form part of negotiating position, Mr Beattie said: "It is frustrating at times to listen to the commentary around the Northern Ireland Protocol and remain silent because you know that joining these disingenuous arguments seems to add fuel to the fire. However, it is also important to lay out the truth which has been hidden as both the EU and the UK attempt to blame each other on the breakdown of relations.

"During our visit to Brussels in March of this year we made it clear to the European Commission Vice President, Maroš Šefčovič, that it was important to continue with intensive dialogue in order to find a solution prior to the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections. Not to do so would mean that there may be nothing to salvage after the elections. We repeated the same message to the UK Ambassador to the EU during the same visit. However the response from both quarters was that they would be suspending substantive talks until after the assembly election and thus, in our mind, lose the momentum that had been gained."

Mr Beattie went on to criticise the Irish Foreign Minister for attempting to "lay blame purely at the UK Government’s door for no substantive talks since February is simply not correct".

He continued: "The Ulster Unionist Party has always advocated for a negotiated settlement on the issue around the protocol, but we cannot continue this circular argument purely because of trust issues as our businesses suffer and we go without a devolved government. Had we not overcome trust issues or at least parked them in 1998 we would never have had the Belfast Agreement. If we stand back and look at the Protocol Bill with objectivity there are clearly solutions outlined within it and it is those solutions which must form part of the negotiating position.

"As a Party we have been advocating for a green lane approach – no checks on goods from GB to Northern Ireland if their end destination is NI – since 2019 and only now has it become the accepted position of all the main players. The dual regulatory system can work, but there must be more detail or we risk flipping the Irish Sea Border as manufacturers are asked to produce Country of Origin Certificates to move their goods from Northern Ireland to the UK."