UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA said:

“The message we took to the Taoiseach today was to ask him to use whatever influence he has to ask the EU to change its mandate and urgently deal with the issue of the Irish Sea Border.  We cannot continue replaying the same conversations.  If it truly is the case that both the UK and EU are in the same place on what the landing zone is, then what is the delay in making progress?

“We also reiterated to him the importance of language at this time and the less than helpful statements from representatives of the Irish Government recently.  Sometimes you need to step back and look at the bigger picture of what is happening rather than engaging in reactionary statements that only make the situation worse.

“The Protocol is currently upsetting the fine balance of the Belfast Agreement.  Politics here must be underpinned by consensus, and we move into a dangerous space without it.  An internal border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom is unacceptable to unionists.  The request to deal with this is a reasonable one and there are solutions to fix the problems.  These problems are now acknowledged and accepted by all parties.  We cannot continue as we are with trust and confidence being eroded.”