"The last thing we want to see is somehow the British government trying to play with peace in Ireland as some sort of negotiating gambit towards fishing rights or state aid," Irish lawmaker Neale Richmond told Euronews.
ADVERTISEMENTBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson is raising concerns in Brussels by threatening to walk away from Brexit talks if no new trade deal is reached by October 15.
Also alarming to many Brexit experts are reports that the UK is planning new legislation that would override the EU Withdrawal Agreement on key areas such as state aid and Northern Ireland customs arrangements.
Neale Richmond, an Irish lawmaker from the centre-right party Fine Gael, and former chair of the Irish Senate's Brexit committee, insisted on Euronews that the Withdrawal Agreement was binding.
"It's an international treaty with obligations in international law. It can't be reopened or picked apart simply to meet domestic political demands in the UK," Richmond said in an interview.
He warned of grave consequences if the terms of the divorce deal were to be breached.
"The last thing we want to see (...) is somehow the British government trying to play with peace in Ireland as some sort of negotiating gambit towards fishing rights or state aid."
Hear more from Richmond in the video player above.