A lack of a trade agreement in the context of Brexit and the application of WTO rules “would be extremely damaging to Great Britain,” said Simon Coveney. The Irish Foreign Minister is particularly concerned for the fishing sector, which he considers to be “the most difficult point to settle.” And to warn: “A 'no-deal' would cause chaos at sea for British ships and the European fleet”.

He considers that Boris Johnson's recent attempt to reverse the deal with a bill “has undermined the reputation of the British in the world and weakened confidence between the negotiating teams”.

According to him, faced with such acts, the European Union “has no other choice but to take the legal route”.

He commends the negotiating teams who have “done a tremendous job” in crafting a protocol for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

He wants to "see the full implementation of the protocol as part of the divorce agreement which offers these essential guarantees to prevent the return from a physical border", because "people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland still bitterly remember the borders between north and south ”.

Although a nationalist and a supporter of “the reunification of the island” on which he lives, he does not support the immediate implementation of negotiations for a reunification of the island of Ireland.

“This is not a subject that can be dealt with in the wind in the context of the Brexit discussions,” he said.

This subject “must be part of a process of guarantee, discussion, negotiation to take into account all the situations and all the opinions on the island”.

Regarding the health crisis, he said that "the measures put in place in Ireland are much broader than those taken by other European countries", noting the good relative figures of Ireland. He also praises the work of the European Union, observing “much more solidarity and joint decision-making coming from Brussels, in the field of travel abroad, access to medicines or even personal protective equipment”.

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