The UK’s Minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton Harris, reiterated his intentions this Friday. Call for new elections in Northern Ireland, If, after what happened last May, the Northern Irish parties fail to form a government before 28 October.
Conservative minister said If the executive continues to be blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) refusal to rule with nationalist Sinn Féin, the “obligations” to call these electionswinner of the last election, until the dispute over the Brexit protocol is resolved.
Heaton Harris made these remarks at the Irish Secretary of State’s press conference following the so-called Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Simon Coveney, admitted that he would prefer the problem to be resolved without the need to go to the polls again.
Coveney said he wanted Northern Ireland’s institutions to work “to make decisions for families and businesses there”, but he warnedA new election would once again create divisions around the Northern Ireland Protocol issue.
Northern Ireland Protocol Division
British and Irish ministers The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) were “positive” about the possibility of reaching a satisfactory resolution on this controversial item. They predicted that “there will be a lot of diplomatic activity” before 28 October.
“I think we are all in a good mood and working in good cooperation. to achieve the changes needed to reach a negotiated solution.a,” said Heaton-Harris, who has been in office since September 6 with the new British government of Liz Truss.
Coveney said it was “unrealistic” to think it could be. final deal in the next three weeksbut he considered the important thing to be a ‘big step forward’ which served to persuade the ‘unionist community’ to enter the Government of Northern Ireland.
London requested Brussels to amend the Protocol, which imposed controls on goods between Great Britain and the British province of Northern Ireland, to prevent a physical border on the island of Ireland, which was in violation of the 1998 peace agreements, but was unsuccessful. Both the British Conservative Government, which signed the controversial article, and Unionists in the DUP now agree that creating trade friction threatens Britain’s territorial integrity.
this May 5 elections, Won by Sinn Féin republicans for the first time in history The resignation in February of then-DUP Prime Minister Paul Givan’s autonomous power-sharing manager to protest the protocol.
The DUP, which came in second after the elections five months ago, In Northern Ireland, led by Michelle O’Neill, the deputy prime minister refused to nominate, In order to pressure London to terminate its agreement with the EU.
The Dublin Government, the interested party in the negotiations, He was optimistic that progress could be made under Truss’ new leadership, He said he was more understanding in his position as prime minister than when he was in charge of negotiation.