Conflict over Northern Ireland Protocol
EU and Great Britain reach an agreement in the Brexit dispute
2/27/2023 3:32 p.m
The dispute over the customs border between the EU and Great Britain has been smoldering for years. The question at stake is whether Northern Ireland should remain in the European single market. Now Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have come to an agreement.
According to government circles, Great Britain and the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement in the long-standing Brexit dispute over the Northern Ireland Agreement. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wanted to announce the agreement after a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London.
In the evening, Sunak wanted to comment on this in parliament. The conflict revolved around the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, which established special customs rules for trade between the British province of Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland. Protestants in Northern Ireland in particular were up in arms because they feared that their country could be effectively cut off from the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Northern Ireland Agreement is part of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, which officially took effect at the end of January 2020. The protocol is intended to prevent Brexit from creating a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland. In this case, new violence is feared between pro-British Unionists, who are mostly Protestant, and supporters of a reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, mainly in the Catholic camp.
Because of the open border with Ireland, Northern Ireland remains de facto in the European single market. British customs should therefore ensure that goods exported to Northern Ireland comply with EU consumer and environmental standards. However, the British government has repeatedly postponed the controls.