WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the British government’s new legislative effort to unilaterally upend the Northern Ireland protocol:
“I am deeply disappointed in the United Kingdom’s decision to unilaterally try to upend the Northern Ireland protocol. The decision to disapply portions of a legally binding agreement negotiated between the government and the European Union has significant implications. The proposal is an irresponsible move that threatens the twenty-four years of peace enjoyed since the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 as well as the economic wellbeing of everyone living on the island. I urge the British government to fully embrace the Good Friday Agreement and related efforts and to recommit to negotiations with the European Union. As countries across the transatlantic alliance demonstrate an unprecedented level of unity to support Ukraine and shore up critical relationships, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is an unneeded distraction.”
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