UK Brexit minister not a ‘trustworthy interlocutor’, says Irish MEP

Britain’s Brexit minister David Frost is not a “trustworthy interlocutor” and his current stance against the European Union is not credible, an Irish MEP has claimed at an Oireachtas Committee.

Fianna Fáíl’s Barry Andrews was one of four MEPs who spoke at a special Seanad sub-committee meeting on Brexit on Tuesday, all of whom were very critical of the position now being adopted by the British government.

While saying there was some progress being made on some key issues in relation to the protocol, Mr Andrews said the tensions between the sides were manifested in recent opinion articles by Lord Frost and by the EU Commissioner leading negotiations with the UK, Maroš Šefcovic.

“Being quite honest, I don’t say this lightly but I don’t believe David Frost is a trustworthy interlocutor,” Mr Andrews told the Committee, chaired by Senator Lisa Chambers.

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“He is of a cohort that has consistently underplayed the significance of Brexit for the island of Ireland. They have consistently ignored warnings about the effects of it on the island of Ireland and rammed through the Northern Ireland protocol to get Brexit done.

“They are now blaming the EU saying the British did not understand the circumstances in which the protocol was written even though it was drafted in English by those who speak English as a second language.

“None of this is very credible. Unfortunately for Ireland we run the risk of being collateral damage in increased tensions between the EU and the UK.”

In recent days, Mr Frost has written that the EU has been intransigent and that instead of dealing with neighbours in a pragmatic way, it has resorted to imposing its rules and to “legal purism”.

Mr Šefcovic replied that the EU has been very flexible in its approach but would “not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations”.

The disagreement over the protocol is likely to come to a head at the end of this month when the grace period for no checks being imposed on processed meat, such as sausage meat, comes to an end. There are concerns the UK will once again unilaterally ignore the introduction of the new rules.

Dairy and fishing

Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe was also highly critical of the UK. “It is deeply worrying to hear constant statements from London that the Northern Ireland Protocol is not sustainable.”

He said that it was not acceptable to hear of a surprise announcement to extend grace periods until October.

“We have seen quite a bit of grandstanding, which only exacerbates the existing sensitivities that have arisen from balancing the Good Friday [Belfast] Agreement with Brexit and with the Northern Ireland Protocol,” he said.

Mr Cuffe said that Ireland was already seeing significant consequences. He referred to electricity interconnector with the UK.

“It is not operating as well as it was before Brexit. That results in higher prices for people both in the UK and in Ireland. That is a very practical consequence,” he said.

Fine Gael’s Colm Markey told the Committee of the problems being encountered with mixed dairy products produced north and south of the Border, including Bailey’s.

He also said that Ireland needed to have a “just share of fishing rights”, adding that there could be no talk of compensation or decommissioning of boats.

Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh also spoke about the impact of Brexit for the Irish fishing industry. Referring to the EU reserve fund to help those sectors impacted by Brexit, she said: “We are the biggest benefactor of the reserve but we stand to lose the most, particularly in our fisheries sector.

“We are projected to get an initial fund of €1 billion but other colleagues will share that also. [A total of] €109 million has been allocated to support the fishing industry,” she said.