Recent tensions in Northern Ireland are not a result of the protocol but flow from Brexit itself, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.
Protocol arrangements mean a new raft of checks on goods at ports in the province, sparking anger among unionists who feel Northern Ireland is being separated from the rest of the UK.
While talks are continuing between the EU and the UK to resolve some protocol issues, both the outgoing DUP leader Arlene Foster and her successor Edwin Poots have demanded it is scrapped.
But Ms von der Leyen insisted this would not happen. “There should be no doubt that there is no alternative to the full and correct implementation of the protocol,” she said.
The EU chief added: “If we see problems today we should not forget that they do not come from the protocol but they result from Brexit. That is the reason why the problems are there.”
The commission president was speaking following the first day of the EU Council – the first such meeting since the introduction of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement at the beginning of May.
Ms Von der Leyen reiterated that the protocol was “the only possible solution” to ensure peace and stability in Northern Ireland while protecting the integrity of the EU’s single market. “The beginnings are not easy,” she added on post-Brexit arrangements.
“Now, it’s our common duty with the United Kingdom to do whatever we can to reduce tensions in Northern Ireland and that is why we are exploring practical solutions to help to minimise the disruptions to the everyday life in Northern Ireland.”
The outgoing leader of the DUP accused the EU chief of having a “tin ear” to concerns about the protocol on Tuesday.
Responding to von der Leyen remarks, Ms Foster said: “I think it is hugely disappointing, in spite of everything that has happened, the fact that we are talking about cancer drugs being prevented from coming into Northern Ireland.
She added: “The fact that there are more checks from Great Britain into Northern Ireland than there are in Rotterdam; that still the European Union and the European Commission have had a tin ear to the concerns and the absolutely genuine concerns of the people in Northern Ireland.”
Boris Johnson’s Brexit minister David Frost suggested last week that the way the protocol was operating was to blame for recent violence and could “undermine the Good Friday Agreement”.
Mr Frost said trading problems in Northern Ireland must be solved before the “turbulence” of marching season in mid-July.
The Brexit deal negotiator also made clear the UK would not strike a new agreement with the EU on food and plant rules to minimise checks, saying: “We are not doing dynamic alignment.”
