Foreign Minister Dominic Raab called for “a little respect” from EU leaders, saying senior bloc officials spoke “in series” of Northern Ireland “as if it were ‘was from a country other than the UK “.
The UK and the EU are currently at odds over the implementation ofBrexit for Northern Ireland – known as the Northern Ireland Protocol – before the end of a “grace period” for certain border controls at the end of this month.
The dispute threatened to overshadow the UK’s reception of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, this weekend – during which Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed some in the EU needed to “get into their heads” that the UK is one country.
The Prime Minister’s anger was reportedly raised during his bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday morning.
Mr Johnson reportedly tried to explain his frustration with the protocol by asking what Mr Macron would do if the Toulouse sausages could not be transferred to Paris.
The French president reportedly responded by saying the comparison did not work because Paris and Toulouse were both part of the same country, thus suggesting that Northern Ireland is not part of the UK.
Asked by Sky News at the G7 summit whether this information was true, Mr. Raab said “for reasons of diplomatic profession” that he would “not reverse the fuse”.
But he added: “No one should be surprised by these reports and it’s not just one number.
“We have seen top European officials talking about Northern Ireland as if it were a different country from the UK in series.
“It’s not only offensive, it has …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-13 08:13:00