The European Union (EU) has acted in an “offensive” way by repeatedly refusing to treat Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom (UK), Dominic Raab has claimed.
The UK Foreign Secretary deepened the rift with Brussels over the trading arrangements which apply to Northern Ireland under the Brexit deal, accusing EU figures of showing a lack of respect to the UK.
His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly suggested Northern Ireland was not part of the UK during his talks with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the margins of the G7 summit.
“What we cannot have is the continuing disruption of trade and effectively try to change the status of Northern Ireland, contrary to the consent and wishes of the people, which is not just contrary to the Northern Ireland Protocol but also to the Belfast Agreement,” Raab told Sky News.
“We have serially seen senior EU figures talk about Northern Ireland as if it was some kind of different country to the UK. It is not only offensive, it has real world effects on the communities in Northern Ireland, creates great concern, great consternation.
“Could you imagine if we talked about Catalonia, the Flemish part of Belgium, one of the lander in Germany, northern Italy, Corsica in France as different countries? We need a bit of respect here.”
Raab told Times Radio: “There was more than one senior European figure talking about this at this summit and I’ve heard it for years now.
“And the truth is Northern Ireland cannot be talked about as a separate country to the UK. It’s offensive. And that kind of approach speaks volumes. That is one of the reasons we have the problems we do with the Northern Ireland Protocol, because there isn’t a proper appreciation and there’s been a lopsided approach.”
Johnson has threatened to unilaterally delay the imposition of checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland in protest at the way in which the deal he agreed is being implemented.
The British Prime Minister met French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel in the margins of the summit on Saturday.
