Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“The Regulations being introduced by HMG to build further Irish Sea Border infrastructure are worthy of detailed study.
“In and of themselves they confirm the imposition on Northern Ireland of foreign law in that their purpose is to give effect to the EU requirements in the form of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (Official Controls Regulation). It is because of the application of this, among hundreds of other EU laws, to NI by Article 5(4) of the Protocol that HMG is slavishly acting to give effect to this EU demand.
“The EU’s Official Controls Regulation of 2017 is central to the operation of the EU’s Customs Code and how it controls its borders. It is this which through surrogacy the U.K. is shamefully imposing as EU control of our ports.
“The genesis of the matter is very clearly laid out in the Explanatory Memorandum which accompanies the new U.K. Regulation.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/17/pdfs/uksiem_20230017_en.pdf
“The Explanatory Memorandum also contains an embarrassing reminder of how Unionist ministers in 2020 were sleepwalking into implementing the Protocol:
“7.2 It was agreed in 2020, by the Northern Ireland Executive, that the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (‘DAERA’) would build the facilities to deliver SPS checks required by the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (‘the Protocol’).”
“DUP ministers had an Executive veto over this, but did not exercise it! Moreover, on 8 December 2020 they pushed through the Assembly empowerment of 45 EU regulations. None of which has made the rearguard action unionism has had to fight ever since any easier.”