“Britain playing a reckless game that they will lose” – MacManus welcomes firm EU position

Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus has said the British Government are “playing a reckless game with the lives of honest hard working people on the island of Ireland.”

MacManus was speaking following this afternoon’s extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee where Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič  stated “The EU does not accept the argument that the aim of the draft Bill is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement. In fact, it is of the view that it does the opposite.”

I welcome Vice President Šefčovič’s strong stance on these revelations from Westminster and I’m glad to see the EU are seeing through the prime-minister’s predictable Tory antics.  I think the full unwavering support Ireland has received this week from both the EU and the US should serve as a wake-up call for Mr. Johnson’s government and surely make them realise they have pursued an unwise strategy.”

MEP MacManus said “The draft Internal Market bill published this week by the government in Westminster confirmed our suspicions that Johnson and his Brexiteers were never acting in good faith since day one of negotiations.”

“The playacting we’ve seen from London in the last few days hasn’t come as a surprise to anyone in Sinn Féin. We have felt for some time that signs of a reneging from Westminster were evident. It would of course be a very clear breach of an international treaty agreed with the EU only a few months ago. It would also threaten the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement. The illegality of such a trajectory has already been confirmed in their own parliament.”

MacManus concluded by calling for firmer action from Leinster House. “I think the government in Dublin have been caught napping again. The inaction we’ve seen is very concerning. It feels like once again Sinn Féin have to do their jobs for them and lead Irish concerns on an international stage whilst the Fine Gael – Fianna Fail government dithers. ” ENDS

NOTES:

Link to Full Statement by the European Commission following the extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_20_1607