Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has stated that the inflammatory language from the Irish Government will make a bad situation worse.

Mr Aiken said:

“The EU are in absolutely no position to accuse anyone of not acting in good faith given their brazen attempt to stop vaccines going to Northern Ireland on 29 January. Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney need to dial down their rhetoric. Their latest comments will make a bad situation worse.

“The fact that we didn`t hear this type of inflammatory language from Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney when the EU unilaterally broke the protocol and didn’t even bother to lift the phone to the Dublin Government before doing so, exposes their hypocrisy and phoney concern for Northern Ireland.

“The Irish Government and EU have repeatedly trampled over the genuine and legitimate concerns of the unionist community in Northern Ireland and that should not be forgotten. They have misrepresented the Belfast Agreement and undermined its principles.

“This clearly isn`t about protecting the single market, it`s entirely political from the EU and Irish government.  The UK Government has reacted to the message coming from business in Northern Ireland.  This is minimal action to ease the fears of business as to the pressure they would be under if the grace period ended in just a few weeks time.  If the EU hadn’t spent so much time dawdling over the last number of weeks then we wouldn’t have ended up here.  Let’s not forget how quick they were to act in their own farcical interests.

“The minor changes to the grace periods should not distract from the fundamental issue that the Protocol is a divisive and entirely disproportionate treaty which changes Northern Ireland`s status within the United Kingdom.”