>Admitting talks between London and Brussels had hit an “impasse”, Mr Cleverly urged the EU to loosen rules under the Protocol – and suggested European leaders did not understand the potential for violence.
>
>“The point we are making is that many of us have lived through the Troubles,” he told MPs.
>
>“We are absolutely determined to protect the Good Friday Agreement and not go back to that point in time.
>
>“The tensions that are building are the primary focus for our concern.”
He also lashed out at American politicians who comment on the Protocol from across the Atlantic.
>
>US President Joe Biden is thought to be wary of negotiating a UK trade deal until the row over the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is settled.
>
>Mr Cleverly insisted British politicians were better placed to comment on the province.
“We are closer to it – geographically, obviously – but this is something we look at all the time and in detail,” he said.
>
>“I do sometimes think there is a bit of a misunderstanding of exactly how this situation is playing out on the ground.”
>
>Urging leaders to “sit up and take note” of Unionist concerns over the Protocol, the minister added: “I do remind our American friends and European friends that they should listen to this range of Unionist voices because they are all expressing very severe reservations – stronger than that, they are all basically saying, ‘This is not working’.”
Mr Cleverly called on EU chiefs to allow their chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic to “flex his mandate” to make compromise easier.
>
>”The situation as we now see it is not working, it is not doing what it was meant to do, which is to protect equally north-south and east-west trade, and that, by extension, is causing community tensions in Northern Ireland,” he said.
>
>”The truth is that we have come to something of an impasse, and I don’t think that’s through a lack of goodwill, and I think it’s more through what we regard in the UK as an overly limited negotiating mandate.”
>
>He renewed government threats to trigger Article 16 – suspending the arrangement – unless a solution can be found.
>
>“It (Article 16) exists for a reason,” he said.
>
>“We are very conscious that things need to be resolved.”
I don’t understand why the violence isn’t the fault of the people being violent.
There you have it, this government is prepared to have Northern Ireland go up in flames and break international agreements to persue their warped and blind dogma.
If only we could suggest that people in northern Ireland just peacefully protest, but thats basically a form of extreme violence by disrupting regular peoples lives, so that’s not an option.
The main British unionist party the DUP actually encouraged Loyalist paramilitary groups to withdraw support for the Belfast agreement, yet not one who received early release under the deal has returned to finish out their prison term. Their only ally in rejecting the peace process is Saoradh.
>James Crisp (@JamesCrisp6)
>
>.@JamesCleverly is asked what progress has been made in protocol talks at European Scrutiny Committee.
>
>He admits talks are at an “impasse”, which he blames on @MarosSefcovic mandate (while praising Sefco as wanting a deal).
1
>
>Pressed on progress, Cleverly says got a good resolution on medicines. Says there a lot of live issues which can only be solved once final issues over integrity of Single Market are ironed out.
2
>
>“One of the challenges is that we are now regarding this more about how we protect the Good Friday Agreement rather than a kind of a technical trade problem. And I think that’s that’s where the gap is between our position.”
3
>
>Cleverly says protocol is increasing ‘very real’ tensions in NI
“Everyone in government is really focused on making sure that we don’t see NI slip back into violence at all & we feel that this is one of the things that we should address to prevent that from happening.”
4
>
>Cleverly says he is pleased US takes Good Friday Agreement seriously when asked about Irish FM Simon Coveney’s trip to the US (where MPs expect him to bring up protocol as he did in past)
>
>Says US should listen to Unionist voices like Trimble warning protocol risks GFA.
5
>
>Now MPs have gone down the rabbithole of dynamic alignment in NI – which basically means NI law matching EU law. They want to know what the government is doing about it.
6
>
>Given EU makes rules without UK input and the protocol (voted for by MPs) always said some EU laws had to be followed to prevent hard border optimistic in the extreme to expect much more than a polite request. IMO. But Brexit especially in NI is still about managed divergence
>
>[Apr 28, 2022](https://nitter.net/JamesCrisp6/status/1519619036455350272#m)
Laughable how the hypocritical lefties here who support Putin bombing and shelling Ukraine to defend “ethnic Russians”, absolutely hate the idea of ethnic British people being defended in NI.
It’s almost as if a return to civil war and terrorism is just the sort of problem Tories like because it distracts from inflation and inequality and a faltering economy and energy shortages and problems abroad and at home.
But surely people can’t fall for “the 80s” twice in 40 years?
**SO** what’s happened is – one of the main minister’s of Ireland has said **OK YES!** to a **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** – When the seller(**BORIS THE PM!**) – said he will change it once everything has been signed!? 🤔 … I **BORIS THE PM** will change it!
Which is equal to **you** going to a mobile store and saying I DON’T LIKE THAT FEATURE! then the seller(**MOIBILE** **BORIS THE PM!**) saying but! if you take this phone! by signing this **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** at a later date! I “mobile boris”! will change your **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** ….
The only people I have heard complaining about this is Unionist politicians and their minions. How about reporters actually investigate instead of being a medium for unionist propaganda.
It won’t. There’s no appetite for it, and the majority of people here just want to get on with their lives. A very vocal minority of headcases are being given too much airtime, and any time anything does happen, they lift them the next day. Too much CCTV and tracking these days. They have eyes everywhere.
Bollocks.
Unless the rabidly anti-Irish mob that BritGov colony props in Ireland are encouraged to start attacking the Irish again.
BritGov continuously manipulating NI to create a crisis to try and leverage concessions from EU. Ireland/EU/US can all see this and won’t let it happen. This will not end well for Britain and their loyalist colonial fools.
This is what happens when the DUP is in charge – the only significant party that did not sign up to the peace process. Now the government is not helping, but at the end of the day, you can trace all problems back to the DUP. It is hard to say whether it is stupidity or malice, because they certainly have a lot of both.
The EU and US have other more pressing matters at hand with Ukraine and so many developing issues that there simply isn’t the time nor the motivation to entertain the UK right now.
In comparison, Ukraine has seeded it’s fields in the midst of a horrific genocidal war. UK farmers haven’t seeded because it would rot on the fields due to the lack of a willing workforce. Ridiculous?
Soon Ukraine will be an EU member and the UK will be a third country to it as well.
16 comments
>Admitting talks between London and Brussels had hit an “impasse”, Mr Cleverly urged the EU to loosen rules under the Protocol – and suggested European leaders did not understand the potential for violence.
>
>“The point we are making is that many of us have lived through the Troubles,” he told MPs.
>
>“We are absolutely determined to protect the Good Friday Agreement and not go back to that point in time.
>
>“The tensions that are building are the primary focus for our concern.”
He also lashed out at American politicians who comment on the Protocol from across the Atlantic.
>
>US President Joe Biden is thought to be wary of negotiating a UK trade deal until the row over the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is settled.
>
>Mr Cleverly insisted British politicians were better placed to comment on the province.
“We are closer to it – geographically, obviously – but this is something we look at all the time and in detail,” he said.
>
>“I do sometimes think there is a bit of a misunderstanding of exactly how this situation is playing out on the ground.”
>
>Urging leaders to “sit up and take note” of Unionist concerns over the Protocol, the minister added: “I do remind our American friends and European friends that they should listen to this range of Unionist voices because they are all expressing very severe reservations – stronger than that, they are all basically saying, ‘This is not working’.”
Mr Cleverly called on EU chiefs to allow their chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic to “flex his mandate” to make compromise easier.
>
>”The situation as we now see it is not working, it is not doing what it was meant to do, which is to protect equally north-south and east-west trade, and that, by extension, is causing community tensions in Northern Ireland,” he said.
>
>”The truth is that we have come to something of an impasse, and I don’t think that’s through a lack of goodwill, and I think it’s more through what we regard in the UK as an overly limited negotiating mandate.”
>
>He renewed government threats to trigger Article 16 – suspending the arrangement – unless a solution can be found.
>
>“It (Article 16) exists for a reason,” he said.
>
>“We are very conscious that things need to be resolved.”
[If you believed that complete bullshit…](https://nitter.net/pic/media%2FFRYKRZ1X0AIwOi0.jpg%3Fname%3Dorig)
If you did read through the hole article and it thoroughly depressed you that the ministers we do have are this out to wreck the nation…
…[A JR-M comedy classic..](https://nitter.net/SimonFraser00/status/1519710790189817856#m) to cheer you up.
I don’t understand why the violence isn’t the fault of the people being violent.
There you have it, this government is prepared to have Northern Ireland go up in flames and break international agreements to persue their warped and blind dogma.
If only we could suggest that people in northern Ireland just peacefully protest, but thats basically a form of extreme violence by disrupting regular peoples lives, so that’s not an option.
The main British unionist party the DUP actually encouraged Loyalist paramilitary groups to withdraw support for the Belfast agreement, yet not one who received early release under the deal has returned to finish out their prison term. Their only ally in rejecting the peace process is Saoradh.
>James Crisp (@JamesCrisp6)
>
>.@JamesCleverly is asked what progress has been made in protocol talks at European Scrutiny Committee.
>
>He admits talks are at an “impasse”, which he blames on @MarosSefcovic mandate (while praising Sefco as wanting a deal).
1
>
>Pressed on progress, Cleverly says got a good resolution on medicines. Says there a lot of live issues which can only be solved once final issues over integrity of Single Market are ironed out.
2
>
>“One of the challenges is that we are now regarding this more about how we protect the Good Friday Agreement rather than a kind of a technical trade problem. And I think that’s that’s where the gap is between our position.”
3
>
>Cleverly says protocol is increasing ‘very real’ tensions in NI
“Everyone in government is really focused on making sure that we don’t see NI slip back into violence at all & we feel that this is one of the things that we should address to prevent that from happening.”
4
>
>Cleverly says he is pleased US takes Good Friday Agreement seriously when asked about Irish FM Simon Coveney’s trip to the US (where MPs expect him to bring up protocol as he did in past)
>
>Says US should listen to Unionist voices like Trimble warning protocol risks GFA.
5
>
>Now MPs have gone down the rabbithole of dynamic alignment in NI – which basically means NI law matching EU law. They want to know what the government is doing about it.
6
>
>Given EU makes rules without UK input and the protocol (voted for by MPs) always said some EU laws had to be followed to prevent hard border optimistic in the extreme to expect much more than a polite request. IMO. But Brexit especially in NI is still about managed divergence
>
>[Apr 28, 2022](https://nitter.net/JamesCrisp6/status/1519619036455350272#m)
It’s always worth remembering that unionists only realised that NI could only survive in it’s current state if there was [violence](https://web.archive.org/web/20181116141733/https://www.derryjournal.com/news/ira-ceasefire-anniversary-how-the-events-unfolded-20-years-ago-1-6270464).
Laughable how the hypocritical lefties here who support Putin bombing and shelling Ukraine to defend “ethnic Russians”, absolutely hate the idea of ethnic British people being defended in NI.
It’s almost as if a return to civil war and terrorism is just the sort of problem Tories like because it distracts from inflation and inequality and a faltering economy and energy shortages and problems abroad and at home.
But surely people can’t fall for “the 80s” twice in 40 years?
**SO** what’s happened is – one of the main minister’s of Ireland has said **OK YES!** to a **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** – When the seller(**BORIS THE PM!**) – said he will change it once everything has been signed!? 🤔 … I **BORIS THE PM** will change it!
Which is equal to **you** going to a mobile store and saying I DON’T LIKE THAT FEATURE! then the seller(**MOIBILE** **BORIS THE PM!**) saying but! if you take this phone! by signing this **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** at a later date! I “mobile boris”! will change your **LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!** ….
The only people I have heard complaining about this is Unionist politicians and their minions. How about reporters actually investigate instead of being a medium for unionist propaganda.
It won’t. There’s no appetite for it, and the majority of people here just want to get on with their lives. A very vocal minority of headcases are being given too much airtime, and any time anything does happen, they lift them the next day. Too much CCTV and tracking these days. They have eyes everywhere.
Bollocks.
Unless the rabidly anti-Irish mob that BritGov colony props in Ireland are encouraged to start attacking the Irish again.
BritGov continuously manipulating NI to create a crisis to try and leverage concessions from EU. Ireland/EU/US can all see this and won’t let it happen. This will not end well for Britain and their loyalist colonial fools.
This is what happens when the DUP is in charge – the only significant party that did not sign up to the peace process. Now the government is not helping, but at the end of the day, you can trace all problems back to the DUP. It is hard to say whether it is stupidity or malice, because they certainly have a lot of both.
The EU and US have other more pressing matters at hand with Ukraine and so many developing issues that there simply isn’t the time nor the motivation to entertain the UK right now.
In comparison, Ukraine has seeded it’s fields in the midst of a horrific genocidal war. UK farmers haven’t seeded because it would rot on the fields due to the lack of a willing workforce. Ridiculous?
Soon Ukraine will be an EU member and the UK will be a third country to it as well.