Mr Barnier's legal text sparked claims in some political circles in Britain that the EU was attempting to annex Northern Ireland. EU draft text is constitutionally unacceptable & would be economically catastrophic for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland must have unfettered access to GB market. Mr Coveney said Ireland was insisting on a default clause in the legal text in the absence of solutions or suggestions from Mrs May's Government. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald launched a tirade over the reaction from the British Government and the DUP to the EU legal text.

Source: Evening echo February 28, 2018 16:41 UTC