London, 28 Feb. Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson reiterated on Tuesday that they will take “their time” to decide whether they back the deal between the UK government and the European Union (EU) on the province, which They will be subject to the review of lawyers.
In statements to BBC Radio 4, Donaldson, whose pro-British party opposes any move that alienates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, acknowledged that the pact to reform Ireland’s Brexit Protocol Nord presents “significant progress”, but maintains that “a few problems remain.
“As the Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak) said, this is a very complex agreement, we have to understand it, we received the legal text yesterday afternoon, so we will take some time to study it and get legal advice on it, and then we will come to a conclusion,” he said.
For his part, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the BBC Breakfast TV show that it would be “very disappointing” if the DUP did not return to the government of Northern Ireland after the changes announced on Monday, as they have been “very much taken into account”. account”. their demands during the negotiation with the 27.
The DUP refused to form a power-sharing executive with pro-Irish nationalists Sinn Féin after they won regional elections last May in protest against Northern Irish protocol, which it sees as a threat to the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.
Sunak is in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to defend the benefits of the reform agreed with the EU and will also meet this afternoon in London with his parliamentary group, amid a generally good reception of the new document. EFE
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