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A CALL BY the DUP to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol is to be debated at Westminster later this month.
More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for the emergency move by the party within 24 hours.
The UK and EU have reiterated their “full commitment” to the new arrangements governing Great Britain-to-Northern Ireland trade post-Brexit.
But DUP leader Arlene Foster said there “has to be a recognition in London, Dublin and Brussels that damage has been done by this protocol and therefore we have to deal with it”.
She said there must be unfettered trade and urged the UK Government to step up and protect Northern Ireland with “permanent solutions, not sticking plasters”.
Foster received notice today that the petition will be debated in the House of Commons on February 22.
“I think it was an indication of how strongly so many people right across the United Kingdom felt about the issue that that petition took off in the way that it did,” she said.
Foster said there is anger and concern among the unionist community about how the Belfast Agreement is being interpreted in Dublin, Brussels, and “sadly London”.
“I have been saying that as First Minister and DUP leader, my former colleague and friend Peter Robinson said as much again today writing for the News Letter,” she said.
“I think that is a very good article and people should read what has been in there and the way in which the Belfast Agreement has been misused.”
Foster said the Belfast Agreement has three parts, the parties in Northern Ireland, the North/South dimension and the East/West dimension.
“Once you start damaging one of those strands of the Belfast Agreement, then it does have an impact on the overall operation and I have been saying that for some time,” she said.
“People need to listen to what we’re saying, they need to take heed of what is being said by the unionist community and I hope that the message is being heard in London, and in Dublin and Brussels because we need to deal with this issue and deal with it quickly.”
Robinson told Northern Ireland unionists they could not oppose the protocol at the same time as being part of an administration that implements it.
The former first minister said only extreme action by unionists was likely to extract any significant changes to the protocol.
He indicated that unionists effectively face a choice of learning to live with the new arrangements or collapsing Stormont’s powersharing institutions.
Robinson highlighted that the latter course of action would potentially impact Northern Ireland’s fight against Covid-19.
“Is the scrapping of the protocol more important than the continued operation of the Assembly?” he wrote in the Belfast News Letter.
“A choice may have to be made.”
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and the European Commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic held talks on Thursday night aimed at finding resolution to issues with the protocol’s first six weeks of operation.
A joint statement issued at the conclusion said Gove and Sefcovic had a “frank but constructive discussion” in which they agreed to “spare no effort” in implementing solutions.
The two politicians agreed to convene the joint committee tasked with implementation of the protocol no later than February 24 to provide “the necessary political steer”.
The protocol requires regulatory and customs checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, but it has caused disruption to trade since it came into force on January 1, with various grace periods in operation.
Unionists in Northern Ireland are deeply concerned about the arrangements, insisting they have driven an economic wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
They have called on the UK to trigger a mechanism within the protocol, Article 16, which enables the Government to unilaterally suspend aspects it deems are causing economic, societal or environmental problems.
However, the EU and UK statement on Thursday did not indicate either side was currently willing to contemplate ditching the arrangements.
In the joint statement, the two sides had agreed to find “workable solutions on the ground” and to further engage with business groups in Northern Ireland.
Gove and Sefcovic also reiterated their “full commitment” to the Good Friday Agreement, and impacting as “little as possible” on those living in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, according to the joint statement.
Following the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney described it as a “good day’s work” and said the focus was now on co-operation between the EU and UK to implement the protocol.
Unionist demands for Article 16 have intensified since the EU briefly triggered the mechanism itself, though swiftly backtracked on the move, amid its efforts to restrict the export of Covid vaccines out of the bloc.
https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/what-is-article-16-and-why-has-it-been-causing-hassle
It was a hostile move a few weeks ago but now it’s suddenly the right move.
@J: she’s too late as nothing can be done now. Sure she can debate away with BJ. They will wear each other out.
@J: Well that’s the DUP for you, put the fear of God into their support base and keep saying NO and Never Never. It worked in the past for Paisley so why not now when they have a populist government in the UK.
@Joe Johnson: No nay never, no nay never no more.
@J: I think she has some local elections coming. This is talking to the base.
Who’s the fella in the pic?
@Nigel Comerford: sorry. Didn’t realize it was Pat Short
@Nigel Comerford: she makes miss Piggy from the muppets good looking haha
@Nigel Comerford: Is it Harry Maguire
@Nigel Comerford: think it’s a stock image of a Russian power lifter lol
@Nigel Comerford: Arlene’s photo
@Nigel Comerford: Arlene’s photo
@Nigel Comerford: bertie
@Nigel Comerford: you wouldn’t get up on her to get over a wall ….
I am generally in total disagreement with Arlene Foster and the DUP on most issues. However, I find the type of comments above quite disgusting. If you have something to comment regarding the issue, fine. If she was born with a different skin colour and got comments about it those comments would quite rightly be criticised and taken down. Look at the criticism Gregory Campbell got during the week. These comments and similar comments about others are the lowest of the low.
@Nigel Comerford: Brendan Gleeson?
A picture of someone who has chosen grumpiness over happiness in this weird and wonderful life
When will Arlene realise she and her backward party have well and truly backed the wrong horse. They held the British government to ransom hoping for a hard brexit, thinking that they could isolate the uk from the rest of the world so they could strengthen the union. It’s like a toxic relationship when one partner tries to isolate the other from society so they could have them all to themselves. And now she is upset when it hasn’t gone her way. I feel sorry for staunch unionists they are all on Arlene a bus heading for a cliff edge. Time to get the pop corn.
I wonder how many ,if any, in Britain signed the petition or was it just unionists whose motto is vote early and vote often
When Ursula announced she intended to invoke it there was outrage in the U.K. even though it wasn’t invoked but Johnson in the House of Commons on Wednesday he would consider invoking it and shur that’s grand so.
They’re living with the consequences of their vote to take back what was never lost in order to lose everything they ever had.
14 million people signed a petition about brexit and it was only acknowledged in Westminster for a few seconds,what makes Arlene think her 100k signatures going to get traction in Westminster.the thing is the English want rid of Northern Ireland and Arlene is hanging around like the clingy girlfriend that can’t understand the break up.the unionist vote has split in the north and the dup are in big trouble in the next elections
@reginald: 100k signatures are required to have a topic debated in Westminster. That’s the number she needed.
It’ll go nowhere.
DUP anger: The very definition of an existential reality.
So there is a mechanism in Article 16 that allows the government to unilaterally suspend aspects it deems are causing economic, societal and environmental problem. Surely Arlene causes all of these things. Can we suspend her please. She’s a dinosaur.
@Brian: yes, time that Dinasaur..faded into extinction.
Kind regards from the west of Ireland.
Such a lovely lady
The sad thing about all of this is that the EU don’t care about the Republic and the UK don’t care about the North but what we’ve (ROI & NI) got in common is that we (the ordinary people) get thrown under the bus when it suits each organisation and our governments say thank you for the pleasure of being railed with their pants down.
@Corkonian In Dublin: oh stop it will you! There were 27 members United to ensure no land border would be in place because of brexit. We are one of the EU27 so this means we, in fact, care about ourselves. A mistake was made by the EU, was immediately rectified and apologies were made. Relax.
@Paul Furey: I’m talking in general. The EU has screwed the Irish people in 2008 during the financial crisis. They made us rerun referenda on EU treaties we rejected and they took us to court over Apple. They are now attacking Ireland on the 12.5% corporate tax rate.
@Paul Furey: It can be said that Ireland is a pile on the ar$£ of Europe and the German’s, French, Dutch et al would squeeze it when it suits them. Also, those nations have such respect for the smaller nations of the EU that they called us “Pigs”. The more I see of the EU and it’s treatment of Ireland since the early 1990’s I think an argument could be made for Irexit.
@Paul Furey: Also i thought it was implied but I’ll state the obvious I am in favour of no border between the Republic and the North of Ireland. What I was saying is that I am distressed and disappointed that both the EU and the UK would even contemplate it and throw about the idea of Article 16 after all the bloodshed and the hard won peace. I am disappointed at the consideration shown for the Irish people in the Republic and for the Northern Irish people be they Catholic, Protestant or no religion by the EU and by Boris Johnston. If they want to fight over boarders fine but leave ROI and NI out of it. We are people trying to be the best we can be without being the whipping people and pawns of bigger nations.
@Corkonian In Dublin: irexit will never work . We are lucky to be in the block . If we were cost of living here would be even higher as the uk company’s are finding out with all the extra import charges. We have less buying power so vaccines would cost more. We wouldn’t have a 2nd layer to make sure a government is going to spend money and make the country bankrupt . We wouldn’t have the ECJ where if we’re not happy with the finding of our courts we have a extra court that we can take cases against our own government. We wouldn’t have high safety standards to keep our kids and homes protected . We wouldn’t have the ability to walk into 26 countries visa free and have the right to work in that country. Plus funding for projects like arts roads footpaths. We need the EU
@Corkonian In Dublin: when you go home to cork from Dublin, do you use the Motorways at all?
@Derrick Ó Súilleabháin: You are correct. Irexit would be a complete disaster. I know that. However, the point I was making is that the EU does not treat its members as equals… I was annoyed by the comment that the EU does treat all nations equally. So I gave an exaggerated answer. Brexit will be a disaster and Ireland with a population of almost 6 million will never generate the economic output or demand for goods that a Paris or Berlin would.
@Cian Nolan: I do and if you say the EU paid for them… all they did was give a loan which we are paying back with interest by the tolls…
@Cian Nolan: What motorwayS ?
There is one motorwaY coming out of Cork, yet the two largest cities outside of Dublin are not connected via motorway.
@Corkonian In Dublin: Didn’t realise the EU forced Irish people to buy five houses.
@Corkonian In Dublin: on what basis do you draw your conclusion that the EU does not care about ROI. All the evidence is to the contrary
@Corkonian In Dublin: “they made us rerun referenda” you’re at it again! We rejected the Lisbon treaty. The EU made changes that satisfied us so we voted it in the next time. Democracy at work. No more rubbish please.
@John Daly: Look at the bailout terms from 2008. The so called “PIIGS” were used to stop France from failing economically.
@Paul Furey: They forced the government to rerun. There was threats of withholding EU funds.
There’s supposed to be 8 -9 hundred thousand unionists in NI, but just over 100,00 signed. Ah, where’s the rest of them?
Maybe they’re just not bothered by the protocol.
@Teresa Ryan: Er, think you missed something, it doesn’t matter if there are a billion unionists in NI. you only require 100k votes to get the issue discussed in Westminster. they normally stop counting votes once you reach the required number.
Arlene, is learning the hard way the meaning of the saying. “A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush”. It was idiocy, their quest for a hard Brexit. They truly blew it not supporting T. May.
I never realised Susan Boyle was in politics
@Rostyballs78: at least Susan Brough some happiness
How can that province ever move forward while bigoted people like Arlene seek to live in the past with their dangerous rhetoric, which causes unrest within hardline elements of Loyalism who probably don’t even understand the complexities of the Northern Ireland protocol.
There’s a Stormont election in roughly a year. The DUP have betted on the wrong horse as they would predictably do, made all the wrong calls, got chucked under the bus, and are feverishly trying to pretend that any problems got nothing whatsoever to do with themselves.
It’s time for a sensible unionist voice up North. I’ve a feeling given the current state of affairs there might be some of them willing to rise to the challenge, but I’m not holding my breath. It certainly won’t be Paisley’s lad who’s not even out of puberty, and hopefully it won’t be the DUP altogether.
Why not let the people of the North vote on accepting it or not and then accept that decision, good or bad!
@Seán Dillon: they did already in the brexit vote. The result be the same. The farming community and associated industries be very pro deal to keep their EU access..
@Seán Dillon: why vote on it. Its there. That’s it. They need to make it work. They all need to work together….hahaha!
@John Joseph Barry: They votes on Brexit but been part of GB they have to accept the vote of the majority. However, the northern Ireland protocol is specific to them, so vote on it!
Arelenes the picture of happiness
They just never give up.
Where will the DUP turn when they loose that vote ??
Imagine waking up beside that Beast every morning!
A living hell!
Let it be heard ,let there be nods , and then let it be forgotten by those who no longer want the “union “
Face like a bulldog chewing a holly bush
Arlene as an elected representative you are in power to look after the majority remember 55.8 % voted to remain in the E.U. you should have taken David Cameron’s example and resigned or Nicola Sturgeon example to try and rejoin the E.U
I nearly mistook her for Mary Lou, stark resemblance.
Suddenly she cares about the Belfast Agreement…. But has she consulted her Loyalist paramilitary colleagues yet?
DUP want their cake and eat it, snort it and then tell it to f off.
have your say