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G7: France's Macron says 'nothing renegotiable' on Northern Ireland Protocol
Katherine Berjikian
Europe;
France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife arriving at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England. /AFP /Stefan Rousseau

France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife arriving at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England. /AFP /Stefan Rousseau

 

The UK and France have traded barbs over the Northern Ireland Protocol before the G7 summit, with President Emmanuel Macron warning the UK the post-Brexit deal is not renegotiable.

"I think it is not serious to want to revisit, in the month of July, what we finalized after years of work in December," Macron said at a press conference before leaving for the G7 summit. 

"I believe in the power of treaties. I believe in seriousness. Nothing is renegotiable. Everything is applicable."

 

 

Northern Ireland shares the UK's only land border with the European Union. Under the Protocol, goods are checked between the British mainland and the province rather than between it and the Republic of Ireland (an EU member state), keeping Northern Ireland inside the bloc's single market.

This was an attempt to maintain the Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 ended 30 years of conflict in the area. However, unionists are upset about the protocol because they think it creates a divide between the province and the rest of the UK.

Because of this, border controls have been suspended and a grace period for checks has been implemented. 

The EU has responded that the UK has to implement the agreement. Talks between the two sides failed to come up with a solution on Wednesday.

In response to Macron's comments, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky news in the UK that "it is the dogmatic, purist approach that the EU has taken, which is the risk to the Good Friday Agreement."

He added: "The change must come from the European Commission side. We are not negotiating or haggling the integrity of the United Kingdom."

The U.S. is also reportedly concerned about growing tensions. According to the British newspaper The Times, Yael Lempert, the U.S. senior diplomat, told Brexit Minister David Frost that the UK is "inflaming tensions in Ireland and Europe with its opposition to checks at ports in the province."

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, also said President Joe Biden, who is Irish-American, is "rock solid" in his stance that the Good Friday Agreement must be preserved. 

For his part, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson played down the tension between the UK and the U.S., saying they were on "absolutely common ground" when it came to the peace accord.

Source(s): AFP

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