Brexit: Mgr. Treanor (Northern Ireland) on UK decision to break Withdrawal Agreement. “We fear a new border on our island”

“When Brandon Lewis”, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, “told the Commons that, in particular cases, some provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement could be overwritten, the national community was surprised, and many jurists, even politically neutral, expressed their disappointment at the fact that the British government could even consider violating an international agreement”. In an interview with SIR news agency, Bishop Noel Treanor, who lives in Belfast (diocese of Down and Connor), gave his take on the events taking place in Westminster, where Boris Johnson tabled a bill on Monday to override the Agreement signed with Brussels, namely the provisions on the internal market, something which could have a serious impact on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. “Entrepreneurs and farmers are again faced with uncertainty; they are faced with greater instability than a few weeks ago”. And “the Churches are worried for the consequences of this instability”. The crucial point, Mgr. Treanor said, “is the north-south border: we do not want a hard border there, because this would not help the peace and reconciliation process” which was made possible precisely because the UK entered the single market in 1973.
Valentina Bombelli