THE vice president of the European Commission has rejected accusations that Northern Ireland is being used as a “plaything” by the EU.
The allegation was made by new DUP leader Edwin Poots on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning, but was quickly rejected.
Poots, who took office last week after taking over from former leader Arlene Foster, also accused the EU of doing “demonstrable harm” to the peace process and said he is concerned of violence this summer due to anger over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Poots said once the grace periods on post-Brexit checks on goods from Great Britain ends, there will be 15,000 checks per week at the region’s ports – more, he said, than take place in Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port.
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He said: “We really need to ditch the Protocol and ditch these checks because they are hugely damaging to the lowest paid workers.”
This new raft of checks on goods at the ports of Belfast and Larne under the terms of the protocol have sparked anger among Unionists and loyalists who feel Northern Ireland is being separated from the rest of the UK.
And Poots added that while the European Commission over the years “put their heart and soul into winning peace in Northern Ireland”, he claimed they currently “don’t seem to care for the peace process… that really needs to change, that attitude needs to change, they are doing demonstrable harm to every individual in Northern Ireland and it is having a devastating impact”.
He said the UK Government had the grounds to trigger Article 16 due to economic and societal damage, which he described as “very evident”.
However, European Commission VP Maros Sefcovic rejected the “plaything” claim from the DUP leader.
He said: “We really do our utmost to make sure we demonstrate our total commitment to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and therefore we’ve been looking for four years for the best solution to the very sensitive situation in Northern Ireland.
“For us, and not only for us but also for the UK Government, the response was very clear that it was the Protocol.
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“I think that now, what we should do is to focus on the policies and politics that rather unite than divide us.
“I think we have also to turn the table a little bit in this discussion and look at what the Protocol brings as an opportunity to Northern Ireland.”
Sefcovic said he wants to meet the Northern Ireland Executive parties before the next Joint Committee which is expected to take place in the middle of June.
Poots has previously claimed the Northern Ireland Protocol is “undeliverable” and indicated he may order officials to halt border checks if the issue is not resolved.
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