The DUP, the biggest Unionist party in Belfast, must agree to any revised Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK over the Northern Ireland protocol in order to end the political impasse.
In a recent interview, Nigel Dodds, a former DUP leader and grandee, speaks candidly about the Protocol and the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), as well as the DUP’s current state of unity.
He also cautions the EU and the UK government about their upcoming actions and the risks they pose to the Northern Ireland peace process.
Lord Nigel Dodds, former DUP leader and one of the veterans of the party, are you optimistic about what is coming out of the negotiations between the UK and the EU?
“It remains to be seen. But if the outline of the agreement is as is now being reported, which is merely about reducing the number of checks on goods coming in to Northern Ireland and some tinkering with the role of the ECJ, that doesn’t fundamentally alter the Protocol itself. Obviously, we have to wait and see what the actual details are. Several details have been kept so secret at the moment”.
Do you think that unionism will face an existential danger if you give in on the Protocol?
“If we give in on the Protocol and allow a foreign entity to make our laws, that will over time increasingly diverge our economy and our laws from the rest of the UK. It will push us more and more and more into the orbit of the Irish Republic and the EU. We cannot allow this situation to develop. Our part of the United Kingdom is basically colonised by the EU. Trade and laws and everything else diverge increasingly from the rest of the United Kingdom. That is an intolerable situation. No Unionist who believes in the Union will put their hands to such a situation.
You can read the interview in full here.
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