English sausage against Toulouse sausage: London asked Europeans for "respect" on Sunday after an interview between Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G7 which gave rise to a difficult exchange on the consequences of Brexit in Northern Ireland.
AT the heart of this disagreement that plagued the G7 this weekend, the trade provisions specific to Northern Ireland, which provide for controls on certain trade between Great Britain and the British province, on the other side of the Irish Sea, to prevent them from taking place between the province and the republic to the south. To the point, according to London, of compromising the supply of the North Irish, in English sausages in particular, and of threatening the integrity and sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
After a series of talks on Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, Boris Johnson warned his government would not hesitate to override it. Brexit agreement due to lack of flexibility from the EU, which calls on London to respect its commitments.
According to the Times and the Telegraph, the British Prime Minister was particularly furious after his exchange with Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Johnson complained there about the current rules, which therefore prevent from July the sending of sausages from the island of Great Britain to Northern Ireland, believing that this amounted to prohibiting the sale of sausages from Toulouse to Paris.
"The discussion was tense"
According to these newspapers, the French president rejected the comparison, explaining that “Paris and Toulouse are part of the same country”.
The entourage of the French president confirmed the exchange by assuring that he had used the term "territory".
"The discussion was tense," admitted this source.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab criticized him for "very senior EU officials who speak of Northern Ireland as if it is a country separate from the UK, it is not only insulting, it has concrete effects on communities ”.
“Can you imagine what if we were to talk about Catalonia, the Flemish part of Belgium, a German Land, northern Italy, Corsica for France as different countries?
You need a little respect, ”he denounced.
The measures adopted for Northern Ireland are supposed to "preserve" the peace in the province by avoiding the return of a hard border with the neighboring Republic of Ireland, member of the EU. They caused political turmoil and even violent clashes in early April.
