Congressman Richard Neal
By Irish Echo Staff
Congressman Richard Neal and Congressman Brendan Boyle, Irish America's one-two punch in the U.S. House of Representatives, have come out swinging against the British government's proposal to renegotiate the Irish Sea Protocol.
Rep. Neal, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement: “The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated between the United Kingdom and the European Union to facilitate post-Brexit trade while protecting the peace and prosperity established by the Good Friday Agreement.
"I welcome continued engagement between the UK and the EU on ways to protect the gains made by that historic peace accord in all of its dimensions. I strongly encourage the UK and the EU to work together in a flexible and pragmatic manner in an effort to improve implementation of the Protocol and to make it work more effectively for all affected parties.”
Congressman Boyle, who is co-chair of the Congressional EU Caucus, stated: "This British government negotiated the Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed to it, and its Parliament voted for it.
"Yet almost immediately after it went into effect, the British government has tried to evade its responsibilities under the protocol. Their latest statement and proposed changes just continues this trend and serves only to further destabilize Northern Ireland.
“I am gratified that a strong bipartisan majority in Congress, as well as the Biden Administration, continue to support the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions, which includes no hard border on the island of Ireland.”
