Irish Foreign Minister Warns UK Against Overriding Brexit Terms

Dublin, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2021 ) :Ireland's foreign minister warned Britain on Thursday that unilaterally overriding special post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland would be "a disaster", as disagreements mount over the measures.

Simon Coveney urged the United Kingdom to work within the framework of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol to resolve outstanding issues in the British province, calling the politics around the pact "dangerous, divisive and very polarising".

"There is a way forward here but it has to be on the basis of partnership, not a British government trying to outmanoeuvre the EU politically," he said at a joint press conference with France's visiting foreign minister.

"I hope we'll be able to find a way -- through the committees that have been set up to resolve the outstanding issues of the protocol -- that can avoid unilateral action by the British government, which in my view would be a disaster for relationships, for trust, and for politics." The post-Brexit protocol came into effect at the start of the year, keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market and customs union, despite the UK's departure from the bloc.

Unionists believe it has created a border between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain -- England, Scotland and Wales -- threatening its status in the UK.

They also say it increases the prospect of union with neighbouring Ireland.

Northern Ireland is still deeply divided between pro-UK mainly Protestant unionists and pro-Ireland largely Catholic nationalists, despite a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence over British rule.

- 'Worries' - Coveney's comments came as the leader of the pro-UK Ulster Unionist Party rejected the prospect of renewed violence over the post-Brexit rules.

Doug Beattie said "violence is never the answer", after a UK parliamentary committee heard Wednesday that further trouble could not be ruled out there.

Tensions within unionist communities have been mounting for months, with First Minister Arlene Foster recently announcing her resignation after losing the backing of her Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over the protocol.

It also contributed to a week of rioting in April which saw at least 88 police injured, in the worst unrest in years.

"Those in positions of influence must do all they can to lead people on a path away from violence," Beattie, who was elected UUP leader this week, told the news Letter newspaper.

His call for calm followed a member of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) -- which has historic ties to unionist paramilitaries -- warning that violence should not be considered "off the table".

LCC member Joel Keys told UK lawmakers: "It worries me that we could potentially reach a point in this country ... where the people feel that they do have to defend themselves." Beattie said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson "must engage with political parties... to meet to discuss our alternatives to the Northern Ireland protocol".

"We must show that politics can provide solutions rather than dismiss the genuine concerns of unionists and the loyalist community," he added.

UK Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Brexit minister David Frost both met LCC leaders on a visit to Belfast last week.

Frost on Monday urged the EU to compromise over the protocol before Northern Ireland enters a tense summer of events marking the Protestant ascendancy over Catholics.