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Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson has called on the British government to show how it can make “imminent progress” on the Northern Ireland protocol or take unilateral action to impose its own solution.
Speaking in London after a meeting with foreign secretary Liz Truss, Sir Jeffrey said he had shown patience as talks between Britain and the European Union dragged on over months.
“I’ve been reasonable. I’ve given time for these negotiations to make progress, but we need to see that happen. And the sooner that happens, the better for all of us, for everyone in Northern Ireland.
“This uncertainty is not good for Northern Ireland. We need certainty. We need the government to act. And if the EU are not prepared to agree on what is required, then the government must take that unilateral action,” he said.
Earlier, the DUP leader “paused” his threat to withdraw the party’s ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive to allow Ms Truss, who took over responsibility for Brexit negotiations last month, to start a fresh round of talks with the EU.
Ms Truss will hold her first face-to-face talks?with European Commission Vice President, Maros Sefcovic on Thursday at her grace and favour residence Chevening House.
She has promised to put forward “constructive proposals” to break the deadlock over the protocol, focusing on practical issues such as customs checks and procedures.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss said goods from Great Britain should not be subject to checks if they were going to remain in Northern Ireland but that Britain agreed that goods destined to move across the Border into the EU single market should be checked.
Sir Jeffrey said his focus was also on ending checks on goods that would remain in Northern Ireland and he agreed that issues around the governance of the protocol and the role of the European Court of Justice could be resolved in a separate negotiation.
“In the end, what we want is Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market restored. We want to see an end to checks on the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
“It is wrong that companies and consumers in Northern Ireland have to complete customs paperwork on the movement of goods within their own country. Those are the kind of issues that are a priority for us, notwithstanding the need to reach agreement on the wider issues such as governance,” he said.
Sir Jeffrey rejected criticism of the DUP’s strategy on Brexit, insisting that the backstop proposed by Theresa May, which his party rejected, would have been worse than the protocol. And he claimed that his threats to withdraw DUP ministers from the Executive helped to persuade the EU to compromise on the protocol.
“Since we outlined our position, the EU, having said there would be no negotiations, has come to the table. We’ve seen some progress on some areas, like medicines, but frankly, it isn’t enough. And we’ve made that clear. And the UK government, Liz Truss, has said that what has happened so far isn’t enough. So I think we’re moving in the right direction. The question is, how quickly can these things happen?” he said.