‘Undiplomatic and unwise’: EU president Ursula von der Leyen risks row after likening Britain’s rule in Ireland to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Top Eurocrat Ursula von der Leyen risked a diplomatic row with the UK yesterday
- She likened Britain’s rule in Ireland to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Jacob Rees-Mogg said her comments were ‘undiplomatic, unwise and wrong’
Top Eurocrat Ursula von der Leyen risked a diplomatic row with the UK yesterday by likening Britain’s rule in Ireland to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission chief made the remarks in an address to a joint sitting of the Irish Parliament in Dublin to mark Ireland’s 50-year European Union membership.
She said: ‘I would like to dwell on five Irish virtues that will help our union to face our common challenges ahead. First, the Irish passion for freedom. This country knows what it means to struggle for the right to exist.
Top Eurocrat Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) made the remarks in an address to a joint sitting of the Irish Parliament in Dublin to mark Ireland’s 50-year European Union membership
‘Today, another European nation is fighting for independence. Of course, Ireland is far away from the front line in Ukraine. But you understand better than most why this war matters so much to all of us. Just like our friends in Eastern Europe, you know that in Ukraine there is more at stake than the future of one country alone…’
Her comments threatened to sour relations amid talks over renegotiating the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol trading arrangements.
Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘It is an extraordinary thing for Ursula von der Leyen to say, undiplomatic, unwise and wrong.’