After Brexit breach of customs rules: Northern Ireland’s government is on the brink

After Brexit rule breach at customs
Northern Ireland’s government is on the verge of collapse

The announced end of customs controls at the border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain has far-reaching political consequences. In Belfast, the conflict between Catholics and Protestants flares up again. Most likely Prime Minister Givan will resign.

The dispute over Brexit special rules for Northern Ireland endangers stability in the British part of the country. The negotiations between Brussels and London were threatened with a severe setback and the end of the regional government in Belfast. According to observers, this could significantly exacerbate the tense situation in the former civil war region. The ruling Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which received the backing of the British government, was primarily responsible for the explosive development. The EU Commission and neighboring EU member Ireland were appalled by the advance.

In protest against the Brexit regulations, the DUP announced that it would stop the customs controls on British imports agreed with the EU. In addition, Prime Minister Paul Givan of the DUP is expected to resign over the dispute. This would shatter the carefully balanced unity government between the Protestant-leaning DUP, which advocates union with Britain, and the Catholic-Republican party Sinn Fein, which wants reunification with Ireland. Sinn Fein’s equal Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill would also have to step down.

The consequences are unforeseeable. Politically, the region would be paralyzed until the May 5 election. But the main concern is that the situation on the streets will escalate again. In recent months, supporters of the union with Great Britain have been rushing against the customs border in the Irish Sea. Masked men twice stopped a bus, chased the driver away and set the vehicles on fire. Slogans and threats could be read on many of the walls.

Although the DUP criticized the violence, it added fuel to the fire itself: party leader Jeffrey Donaldson has repeatedly announced that he will withdraw his ministers if London does not withdraw from the Northern Ireland Protocol. This document, negotiated by London and Brussels in the wake of Brexit, stipulates that, unlike the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland remains a member of the EU Customs Union and Single Market. This is intended to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland in order to avoid new tensions and violence from the mostly Catholic advocates of reunification.

The EU reacted cautiously at first

However, this resulted in an intra-British customs border. Food from Great Britain is subject to controls. Loyalists fear this will weaken ties with London. The regulation, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself signed, has long been a thorn in his side. This is one of the reasons why the government in London immediately signaled backing for the DUP plans. Foreign Minister Liz Truss also confirmed that stopping the Brexit controls was a matter for the Northern Irish executive. That is explosive. Because Truss is currently negotiating changes to the protocol with EU Deputy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, also this Thursday. Talks were going well, a UK government spokesman said.

The EU Commission initially reacted rather cautiously to the DUP’s solo effort, which was criticized as an election campaign maneuver. She called on the UK government to honor its international commitments. The Chairwoman of the Internal Market Committee in the EU Parliament, Anna Cavazzini, made a similar statement. Irish EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness was clearer. “This is a clear breach of international law,” she told Irish broadcaster RTÉ. “This announcement has created uncertainty and unpredictability and not stability at all, so I don’t see the point of this move.”

Even years after the peace agreement, Loyalists and Republicans in Northern Ireland are still a long way from reconciliation. Catholics and Protestants still live separately and send their children to different schools. In Belfast, “peace walls” separate neighborhoods. Just under a year ago there were new riots at this border, young people threw Molotov cocktails. Now new riots are feared.

source site-34