Sir Jeffrey – “EU medicine move not enough but recognition of Protocol flaws”

Sir Jeffrey Said,

“The EU action on medicines shows that the NI Protocol was and is flawed. Whilst the SDLP, Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party wanted the “rigorous implementation” of the Protocol, I am glad the DUP stood up for Northern Ireland.

This is a step in the right direction but it’s not far enough. It is shocking that in the middle of a pandemic, there is uncertainty over our access to medicines because of the NI Protocol.

Brussels should have no role in deciding Northern Ireland’s access to medications. This is another blatant breach of the Belfast Agreement. A foreign power should have no role in dictating to this part of the United Kingdom whether we can access medicines at the same as the rest of the United Kingdom.

Our constituents should be able to access the same drugs at the same time as the rest of the United Kingdom.

We are seeking meetings with medicine suppliers to gauge the impact of this decision but given the EU still seeks to retain an element of control over medicines we expect the latest announcement by the EU to still leave significant problems for our constituents.”