COP26: Emmanuel Macron meets Boris Johnson in Glasgow
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The French President stirred further tension by suggesting it is “of existential importance for Europe not to compromise” the Northern Ireland protocol. He also described the measures, introduced to avoid a hard border by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market, as a “question of war and peace for Ireland”.
But UK sources insisted the French President does not understand the complexity and challenges of Northern Ireland.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a senior Whitehall source labelled the remarks “incendiary and ill-judged”.
As reported by Irish broadcaster RTE, Mr Macron said: “The Protocol is of existential importance for Europe not to compromise when it comes to our single market, the integrity of that, otherwise there are no longer any rules at the borders.
“It’s a question of war and peace for Ireland.
“So we should avoid any temptation to be less than serious.”
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Emmanuel Macron sparks fury
Emmanuel Macron has sparked fury in the UK after claiming the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol are a “matter of war and peace” for the island of Ireland.
Amid issues surrounding the European Court of Justice, Channel crossings and fisheries licences, Mr Macron claimed the protocol is a “existential” crisis for the EU.
He also claimed the EU must deal with the UK on a united front in order to resolve Brexit.
According to RTE, Mr Macron said: “The Protocol is of existential importance for Europe not to compromise when it comes to our single market, the integrity of that, otherwise there are no longer any rules at the borders.
“It’s a question of war and peace for Ireland. So we should avoid any temptation to be less than serious.
“And so I think that we should not play with this issue, but it is an issue that we will deal with in Europe in a united way from day one, whether it’s fisheries, or the Irish agreements, or migration.
“All of these are issues between the EU and the United Kingdom.”
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