The EU is negotiating with a partner it “simply cannot trust”, Ireland’s foreign affairs minister has said.
Simon Coveney made the comments in relation to the UK government’s decision to extend Irish Sea border grace periods, a move he described as “frustating” and “essentially breaking the protocol”.
“This is not the first time this has happened, that they [the EU] are negotiating with a partner that they simply cannot trust,” he added.
Elsewhere, the chancellor’s decision to cut £16bn from public spending has been criticised, with the director of the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank saying it will cause “real additional pain”,
Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that a further £4bn would be cut, following the £12bn reduction he outlined in last year’s spending review.
IFS director Paul Johnson said the spending figures look “implausibly low”, adding that he would bet against them being achieved.
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