DUP threatens to collapse Northern Ireland government over Brexit controls

BELFAST, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Northern Ireland’s largest pro-British party on Thursday threatened to withdraw from the region’s power-sharing government in a few weeks, unless major changes were made. the terms of Britain’s divorce agreement with the European Union.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson demanded the removal of all new trade barriers between the British province and the rest of the UK, which Brussels says is impossible.

“If ultimately the choice is to hold office or implement the protocol in its current form, the only option for any unionist minister would be to stop holding that post,” Donaldson said in a speech in Belfast.

The fate of the power-sharing executive would be clear in a few weeks, he said, describing the issue as the worst constitutional crisis in the region in its 100-year history.

Northern Irish unionists have become enraged at the region’s post-Brexit status, which was the most controversial issue during London’s negotiations to leave the EU.

To avoid border controls between the region ruled by Britain and the rest of Ireland, Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed that some EU rules should remain in force in Northern Ireland, with controls on some goods arriving from the rest. of the United Kingdom.

Now London says the agreement known as the Northern Ireland Protocol is not working and needs to be changed; the EU has ruled out any renegotiation, although it says it will study ways to facilitate implementation.

Johnson’s spokesman said: “We believe that the challenges posed by the DUP and others illustrate that the protocol in its current form is simply not sustainable.”

The power-sharing government formed by the main parties that support and oppose British rule in Northern Ireland is one of the central stipulations of the 1998 peace agreement that ended three decades of conflict in the United Kingdom. region.

Donaldson said the DUP would also immediately halt co-operation with the government of the Republic of Ireland, another measure called for under the peace agreement.

It would block additional measures taken in ports to monitor Brexit trade restrictions.

“What won’t work is just playing or introducing some flexibilities,” Donalsdon said. “A partial solution will not work.”

Donaldson is scheduled to meet Thursday with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic to visit Belfast to discuss how to mitigate the impact of the protocol.

Donaldson, who took over as DUP leader in June, faces the party’s first defeat in regional elections in 16 years next May, with an opinion poll placing him third among unionist parties in a 13%. If it is not the biggest party, it would no longer have the power to block the distribution of power.

“The DUP is clearly in a panic mode, driven by poor opinion polls,” said Mary Lou McDonald, head of Sinn Fein, the main party that opposes the British government. She described the speech as a “reckless, irresponsible and short-term election call”.

Report by Amanda Ferguson Additional report by Kylie MacLellan Written by Conor Humphries Edited by Kevin Liffey, Timothy Heritage, Peter Graff

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