Brexit: EU 'sent 800 Northern Ireland measures' says Ellis

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The President of the European Commission will travel to Dublin where she will discuss the issues blighting the province, which risk having a major spill-over effect in the Republic. Unionists and loyalists in Northern Ireland insist the protocol must be scrapped amid fears the Irish Sea border will stoke further sectarian tensions and lead to more widespread violence.

Mr Martin, the Taoiseach, said he expected the protocol to feature in his discussions with the EU chief.

Speaking ahead of her visit, he said the pair would touch on a series of issues affecting Ireland in the post-Brexit climate.

He said: “I very much look forward to welcoming President von der Leyen.

“The EU has played an important role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – in responding to the crisis, in rolling out vaccines, and in laying foundations for a strong economic recovery in Europe driven by the digital and climate transformations.

“I also look forward to discussing with her some important topics on the EU agenda including: COVID-19 and how we can accelerate our efforts on vaccination; the EU’s relations with the UK, including ongoing work to implement the Protocol; and the package of measures the Commission announced this week to deliver the EU’s climate ambition.”

Their meeting comes after Britain’s Brexit minister Lord Frost hit out at Brussels for levelling more than 800 new pieces of regulation upon Northern Ireland without notice.

He told peers the move showed the EU was failing to take “seriously” the fact that it was making laws “for another territory” after Brexit.

The Cabinet Office claimed the bloc had sprung an update on it saying more than 600 new measures impacting upon Northern Ireland had been adopted by the trading bloc in the past three months, with a further 200 in the pipeline.

Yesterday a senior minister warned the EU must work with the UK to ease burdens on Northern Ireland rather than “prioritise” the single market.

The Cabinet Office’s Penny Mordaunt also told MPs a “seriously unbalanced” situation is developing in how the protocol is operating.

She said Britain stands “ready” to develop a new approach on implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements and will bring forward its proposals soon.

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