{"id":25104,"date":"2022-02-12T09:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T14:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25104"},"modified":"2022-02-13T10:02:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T15:02:31","slug":"chances-of-protocol-differences-being-resolved-before-election-are-small-says-donaldson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25104","title":{"rendered":"Chances Of Protocol Differences Being Resolved Before Election Are Small Says Donaldson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic and British foreign secretary Liz Truss met in London on Friday as part of their attempt to break the deadlock (PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chances of problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol being resolved before Stormont Assembly elections in May are \u201cquite small\u201d, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donaldson said there was \u201cvery little progress\u201d in ongoing discussions between the UK government and the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and UK foreign secretary Liz Truss met in London on Friday as part of their attempt to break the deadlock over the protocol and committed to intensive talks over coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DUP leader told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today program: \u201cThere is very little progress in the talks, as we saw yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that the likelihood at the moment of agreement being reached is actually quite small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was confirmed to me by the prime minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t expect, unless something changes dramatically, that agreement will be reached this side of an election, to remove the Irish Sea border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish it were otherwise. I want to see the political institutions restored and operating fully restored \u2013 we\u2019re committed to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we want to see Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK internal market fully restored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Ireland was plunged into fresh political upheaval recently when the DUP withdrew Paul Givan as first minister in protest at the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party said the protocol, which has created trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, had undermined a cornerstone of power-sharing in the region \u2013 governance with the consent of both nationalists and unionists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boris Johnson signed the protocol with the EU as a measure to stop a hard Border being erected, and jeopardizing the peace process, on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his government is trying to renegotiate the deal, arguing that it is hampering the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland and damaging community relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stormont Assembly elections are scheduled for May 5th, but in the meantime there is no functioning Executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donaldson said political decisions continued to me made, adding: \u201cThe departmental ministers remain in place and are able to take decisions. The Assembly continues to meet and passes legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut obviously without an Executive being able to meet, without the North-South Ministerial Council being in place, there are certain decisions that can\u2019t be taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe entered government back at the beginning of 2020 following an agreement called New Decade, New Approach and in that agreement the UK government gave a solemn commitment that it would protect Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK internal market, that it would introduce measures to afford that protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver two years later it has not done so, and we believe the UK government has dishonored the agreement that was the basis upon which the devolved institutions were restored in Northern Ireland, and frankly we feel that it is now time for the government to follow through and honor that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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