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Simon Coveney 'deeply regrets' British government legislation to rip up parts of NI Protocol

Simon Coveney, the Republic's Minister for Foreign Affairs. Picture by Hugh Russell
Simon Coveney, the Republic's Minister for Foreign Affairs. Picture by Hugh Russell Simon Coveney, the Republic's Minister for Foreign Affairs. Picture by Hugh Russell

SIMON Coveney has said he "deeply regrets" the British government's decision to introduce legislation within weeks which will overwrite parts of the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.

The Republic's foreign affairs minister said in a statement that such unilateral action "is damaging to trust" and will only "make it more challenging to find solutions to the genuine concerns" that people have about how the Northern Ireland Protocol is working.

"The path chosen by the British government is of great concern," Mr Coveney said, noting that it comes at a time when there are calls for the executive to be re-established.

"The British and Irish governments have a shared responsibility to support the institutions.

"This unilateral action is contrary to the wishes of people and business in Northern Ireland."

The Bill will propose separate "green" and "red" lanes for goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland, with those destined to stay within the UK not subject to EU-level checks.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told the Commons the Bill will "ensure that goods moving and staying within the UK are freed of unnecessary bureaucracy" through the new "green channel".

"This respects Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, in its customs territory, and protects the UK internal market," she said.

The protocol, negotiated between the EU and UK as part of the Withdrawal Agreement, contains the post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland in order to avoid a hard border.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic, who has been involved in negotiations with Ms Truss about the protocol, criticised her plan and warned that Brussels could retaliate.

Should the UK proceed with the Bill, the EU will respond with "all measures at its disposal", he said.

Mr Coveney welcomed that Ms Truss expressed a preference for a negotiated solution with the EU, and said that the EU is "willing to resume talks with the UK at any time".

"There is a basis for solutions to all of these issues in the package of proposals brought forward by the Commission last year," Mr Coveney said.

"I have spoken to Vice-President Sefcovic and many of my EU counterparts in recent days and it is clear that the EU remains united in its commitment to Northern Ireland."

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Monday said that the only way to resolve the row was "substantive talks" between the UK and the EU.

"The UK government has issues, but I can't see any other way to resolve those issues other than through negotiations and substantive talks," he said.

He did not rule out face-to-face talks between himself and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but he said that in the "first instance" talks had to take place between London and Brussels.