Macron says he knows ‘very well’ about British sovereignty
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Following the G7 summit, Sir John Redwood claimed the French President had shown his ignorance over Brexit. The MP for Wokingham also warned the “EU’s spin” had shown how some leaders on the continent have not understood Brexit. Following Mr Macron’s comments regarding chilled meats, Sir John revealed the EU has a common “misunderstanding” over Northern Ireland.
Writing for his blog, Sir John claimed the EU views Northern Ireland as merely a “some colony” which the UK is trying to hold onto.
Sir John said: “When President Macron said that sending supermarket supplies from Toulouse to Paris was different from sending them from Liverpool to Belfast because in the first case they were in the same country he revealed a common international misunderstanding about the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.
“Fed on a diet of EU and Republic of Ireland spin they all see the issues in Northern Ireland from the Irish Republican viewpoint.
“They ignore or simply do not understand the majority community in Northern Ireland who are strongly of the view that Northern Ireland must remain an integral part of the UK, as much a part of the UK as Toulouse is part of France.
“There are quite a lot of Americans who also need to be told this.
“They sometimes seem to think the UK is holding onto some colony in Northern Ireland against the will of the people.”
The EU and UK have clashed over Northern Ireland due to the issues caused by the protocol.
The Northern Ireland protocol has placed the country within the EU’s single market in order to avoid checks on goods on the island of Ireland.
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However, a customs border has been created in the Irish Sea meaning checks must be applied for goods moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
This has created issues for businesses in Northern Ireland due to the increased checks on certain goods.
The UK has warned it may extend the amnesty on chilled meats which ends this month.
Boris Johnson indicated at the weekend he will do whatever it takes to ensure businesses have not been damaged.
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Speaking today, Brexit minister Lord David Frost told MPs the EU had not understood Northern Ireland’s status as part of the UK.
He also told the Northern Ireland affairs select committee not much progress had been made with Brussels to fix issues to trade.
Lord Frost added: “We’d prefer to find negotiated ways forwards if we can.
“If that’s not possible, obviously other options remain on the table, as the PM said over the weekend.
“There comes a point where the unsatisfactoriness of the current situation and the attempts to operate it contributes to the uncertainty and instability.
“And then a responsible effort to bring stability and certainty can improve the situation rather than make it more difficult.
“So obviously if we judge that’s the situation then we look at the range of options that might bring further stability.”
Lord Frost also informed MP the UK had asked the EU to extend the grace period for chilled meats in order to obtain “breathing space” over negotiations.
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