Just over a year after Brexit became a practical reality, the Northern Ireland Assembly is in crisis after its First Minister resigned in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit deal. Ireland's Europe Minister Thomas Byrne tells FRANCE 24 the departure of Paul Givan "has caused deep difficulties within the government system in Northern Ireland", and that the situation is "very very worrying". Byrne asserts that the Northern Ireland Protocol is "potentially the best of both worlds" for businesses there, and that despite calls from Unionist politicians, "the Protocol is staying".
We also discuss military tensions in Europe amid the huge Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders. Thomas Byrne tells FRANCE 24 that for Ireland, "it's very important that we keep talking about this and try to resolve this in a diplomatic way, while still being firm in the resolve and determination that Ukraine should be able to fulfil its own destiny as a nation and have its own right to its territorial integrity."
