Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 29 June 2022
I am very sorry; I have only two minutes left.
Various proposals in the bill will be welcomed in Northern Ireland. Stuart Anderson, head of public affairs at the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that some proposals would be helpful, especially to consumer-facing business.
Secondly, I spoke about the need for a settlement that protects peace. Again, whether we like it or not, the protocol is inextricably linked to the political situation in Northern Ireland. Many of us grew up, even at a remote distance, in the shadow of the conflict that preceded the Good Friday agreement. Maintaining stable social and political conditions in Northern Ireland is obviously of paramount importance for us all. That means obviating the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland and ensuring as frictionless trade as possible. It also means taking action to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland.
We cannot magically wish the concerns of the unionist community away. The community has a right to be heard and is entitled to air its anxiety. Northern Ireland does not have majoritarianism, so both communities need to be on board. Critically, across the spectrum, none of the parties in Northern Ireland is saying that the protocol is perfect. Flexibility is required from everyone: not only the UK Government and the Democratic Unionist Party, but the EU and the whole range of democratic parties in Northern Ireland.
Finally, there needs to be a genuine attempt to re-open negotiations, which is the point that Fiona Hyslop made in her intervention. I was in Brussels with the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee only last week. We had many conversations in private, which I will not repeat. However, it was clear that discussions are stuck and need rapidly to become unstuck. Both sides share responsibility, not just the UK Government. The EU has also shown inflexibility in its approach to the regulation of goods, as I mentioned, and it must change its negotiating mandate. It reopens negotiated agreements all the time. Where there is a will there is a way.
I will close by paraphrasing our amendment. The protocol is not working as intended. We urge both the UK Government and the EU to come to a negotiated settlement so that these very real problems can be resolved. That is how we protect both the integrity of the UK and the EU single market, and that is how we ensure a stable settlement that will safeguard peace in Northern Ireland and allow a return to power sharing—a situation that, unequivocally, we should all want to see.
I move amendment S6M-05235.2, to leave out from “it is fundamentally unacceptable” to end and insert:
“the Northern Ireland protocol is not working as intended, and calls on both the UK Government and the EU to come to a negotiated settlement so that these problems can be resolved and thereby protect both the integrity of the UK and the EU Single Market, and at the same time ensure that a stable settlement is delivered that safeguards peace in Northern Ireland and allows a return to power-sharing government in the Northern Ireland Executive.”
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