{"id":22946,"date":"2021-09-01T17:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T21:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22946"},"modified":"2021-09-03T11:17:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T15:17:07","slug":"donaldson-calls-for-fresh-approach-in-lead-up-to-meeting-with-varadkar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22946","title":{"rendered":"Donaldson Calls For ‘Fresh Approach’ In Lead Up To Meeting With Varadkar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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T\u00e1naiste Leo Varadkar will meet a number of political leaders and business representatives during a visit to the North (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has called for a \u201cfresh approach\u201d from T\u00e1naiste Leo Varadkar ahead of their meeting  to discuss post-Brexit arrangements and Covid recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Varadkar met Sinn F\u00e9in Finance Minister Conor Murphy and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood on Wednesday, ahead of the meeting with Mr Donaldson on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the DUP leader said the meeting will be \u201cmeaningless\u201d unless Mr Varadkar adopts a new approach on the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protocol, part of the Brexit divorce deal agreed by the UK and Brussels, effectively keeps the North in the EU\u2019s single market for goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means checks on goods being sent from Britain into the single market and in some cases could result in prohibitions on certain products that do not comply with EU rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protocol was put in place to ensure there would be no hard border on the island of Ireland, but has proved deeply unpopular with unionists who have insisted it should be removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donaldson said: \u201cA fresh visit from Leo Varadkar to Northern Ireland will be meaningless unless he comes with a fresh approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has championed a protocol which fundamentally undermines the Belfast Agreement and he has dismissed economic and constitutional concerns with patronizing comments about the color of our post boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was Leo Varadkar as the then Taoiseach who insisted on such arrangements with fellow EU leaders. If the Irish Sea border remains, then Mr Varadkar will return as Taoiseach with a legacy of relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic fundamentally undermined and political progress in Northern Ireland reversed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr Varadkar faces a choice: he can continue with the rhetoric of recent years and watch those events unfold or he can adopt a new spirit of positive co-operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArrangements which respect both the EU single market and Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK internal market are not just achievable but would deliver on the promise of protecting the Belfast Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Varadkar is also meeting business representatives during his visit to the North.<\/p>\n

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