Simon Coveney hits out at Boris Johnson's 'bogus arguments'

Simon Coveney said Boris Johnson has put the EU in a "very difficult situation"

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has hit out Boris Johnson for putting forward "bogus arguments" on Brexit.

A controversial UK Bill, which would renege on elements of the Withdrawal Agreement, has created serious trust issues ahead of critical Brexit talks this week.

Mr Coveney said Mr Johnson has put the EU in a "very difficult situation" and asked: "How can we trust a British government that is willing to break an international treaty that's not even 12 months old?"

Asked about claims made by Mr Johnson that his legislation is necessary to avoid a scenario where the EU could block food exports from Britain to Northern Ireland, Mr Coveney bluntly responded: "I think it's a completely bogus argument.

"I think it's creating another straw man to create tension and division around. I don't quite understand the negotiating tactic.

"Because actually, when you examine the evidence, nobody's looking to block anything."

He said the EU and Ireland were left with no choice but to "firmly call out" the UK on their actions.

Mr Coveney said Brexit talks are now in a "very difficult place".

"The last week was supposed to be a moment of progress in these negotiations, it was in the eighth round of formal trade negotiations, the second last that's been scheduled.

"There was an expectation that we would start to create some positive momentum in negotiations that really have been going nowhere now for the last six months.

"Instead of that, the UK, without giving anybody a heads up, decided to take a much more aggressive approach, threatening to breach international law, threatening to breach the treaty as they themselves designed and signed with the EU.

"So we now have a very difficult situation where the British Prime Minister is insistent on moving ahead with something that effectively undermines international law and an international treaty, while at the same time is asking the EU to work with him to sign a new deal on a future relationship," Mr Coveney told RTÉ's This Week programme.

Justice Minister says trust is now damaged on Brexit

Legal action against the UK on Brexit is now "something that could happen", the Justice Minister has warned.

Helen McEntee has said the actions of the UK Gov this week have "damaged trust between both sides" and called on Boris Johnson to withdraw elements of his controversial Bill which breach international law.

It comes as two Former British Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair have written a joint article in the Sunday Times telling Mr Johnson to scrap the Bill which reneges on parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.

While talks between the EU and UK are continuing ahead of the Brexit deadline, Ms McEntee said: "It's very difficult to see how you can negotiate a free trade agreement when what has already been agreed is being proposed to be breached less than nine months later," so we're in a very difficult space."

She added: "I think what's happened this week has certainly set us back.

"We spent a number of years working very hard to negotiate an overall Withdrawal Agreement.

"We've worked very hard in particular on the Northern Ireland protocol to do a number of things but most importantly, to protect the Northern Ireland peace process.

"This is a deal that was reached it was voted through the UK Parliament nine months ago it was voted to the European Parliament nine months ago, and now this week one side of the agreement essentially has decided to unilaterally, on its own, change elements of that agreement."

Asked about possible legal action or sanctions that could be taken if the Bill is passed in the UK, Ms McEntee said "we don't want to get to that stage" but added that "this is something that could happen".

She said the overall trade deal is also at risk.

She dismissed suggestions that the amendments were being introduced to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland.

"We already have spent a number of years working through mechanisms as to how we can protect Northern Ireland, how we can prevent the border from reemerging and how we can protect that unfettered access between Northern Ireland and the UK."

She also rubbished claims made by Mr Johnson that the EU had threatened to introduce a trade border down the Irish sea.

"That's simply not the case," Ms McEntee told Sky News.