To avoid chaos with the EU: Sunak relents in the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol

Created: 01/10/2023 15:26

By: Felix Busjaeger

A road sign reading 'Welcome to Northern Ireland' stands by the roadside on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

(Archive image) © Peter Morrison/AP/dpa

The Northern Ireland Protocol is seen as the Achilles heel for UK-EU relations.

Now there is progress under Rishi Sunak.

London – The Border: For a long time, the simple description of the inner-Ireland border regularly caused horror reports in the British media.

The escalation of the conflict in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s is still considered a cautionary tale in the history of the island kingdom.

And actually the topic was a thing of the past.

With Brexit, however, it experienced a renaissance that continues to this day.

Negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol between Great Britain and the European Union are also continuing under the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In the meantime, the first progress has been made in the debate about customs regulations.

Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol: EU and British government take a joint step

As various media, including the

, report, the EU Commission and the British government have reached an agreement on how the EU can access the British customs computer system.

With this step, a long standstill in the Northern Ireland Protocol was overcome - even if there was only agreement on one point and further questions remain unanswered.

With the new regulation, the EU will be able to track which goods are transported from England, Wales and Scotland to Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Sunak is struggling domestically with the effects of the NHS crisis.

The dispute between the EU and Great Britain over how to deal with the special role of Northern Ireland has been simmering since the start of Brexit a few years ago.

The core question of the dispute has always been how the border in Northern Ireland with the neighboring country, the Republic of Ireland, can be kept open.

Under Sunak's predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, the debate was passionate and confrontation with Brussels was regularly sought.

With the new prime minister, there seems to be a new wind in the matter.

The EU and Great Britain want to find further solutions in the Northern Ireland Protocol

Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Minister Christopher Heaton-Harris jointly announced the current success and stated that the agreement was an "important prerequisite" "to build trust and provide safeguards".

In addition, a new basis for future negotiations has now been created.

Building on this, it will now be discussed which points of contention can be resolved in connection with the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.

What is the Good Friday Agreement?

For decades camp unionists and nationalists fought a bitter struggle for supremacy on the island of Ireland.

London and Dublin finally agreed on Northern Ireland's state affiliation in the Belfast Agreement, commonly known as the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement consists of an intergovernmental British-Irish treaty and an understanding between unionist and nationalist parties.

However, the conclusion of the peace process continued and could only be leveled with further agreements, including the St. Andrews Agreement and the Hillsborough Agreement.

The debate could possibly make significant progress in the near future: Sunak had already announced that the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol would be settled by April.

It is quite possible that the time limit was not chosen without reason: next May will mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Further talks are expected to take place in the coming week.

Northern Ireland Protocol explains why a "hard border" on the island of Ireland should be avoided

The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, commonly referred to as the Northern Ireland Protocol, is the part of the Brexit Agreement.

It is intended to ensure that there is no hard border on the island of Ireland.

The protocol has been in force since January 1, 2021.

The core of the document is to recognize the special circumstances.

The parties pledged to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and to protect the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

In addition, the integrity of the EU internal market is to be guaranteed.

also read

Putin's last hope?

Why Russia Hardly Uses Its 'Most Advanced' Fighter Jet

TO READ

Partially already 89 percent burned?

Ukraine wants access to Putin's missile arsenal

TO READ

Crisis summit in the Vatican: Pope Francis meets Benedict's confidante Gänswein

TO READ

Putin has to take a hit: Armenia does not want an exercise with Russian troops - "Not appropriate"

TO READ

Putin's new miracle weapon: the "Zirkon" hypersonic missile as a nightmare for military strategists?

TO READ

Fancy a journey of discovery?

My space

The Northern Ireland Protocol is not without controversy, but is intended to effectively prevent goods traffic on the Irish island from having to be controlled by customs.

It is planned that Northern Ireland will continue to be bound by EU product rules and customs regulations despite Brexit.

As a result, however, goods from England, Wales and Scotland have to be checked when imported into Northern Ireland - an absurdity for the British government.

EU-UK debate continues: Why is the Northern Ireland Protocol so important?

Why the Northern Ireland Protocol is so important for all partners can be seen in the effort to avoid a hard border.

Just a few days ago, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) declared that the protocol agreed in the Brexit agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU could be understood as the "Achilles' heel" for relations.

It is "essential that we find a responsible and pragmatic solution for Northern Ireland on the basis of existing agreements," said the Green politician.

While British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of far-reaching problems in his country - including the threat of mass protests in Great Britain last month - his government has reacted to the customs regulations since the introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Among other things, attempts were made to loosen trade barriers.

The EU then accused Britain of wanting to reverse the protocol.