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The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol, is a
protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technolog ...
to the
Brexit withdrawal agreement
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
that governs the unique customs and immigration issues at the border on the island of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
between the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, and on some aspects of trade in goods between Northern Ireland and the
rest of the United Kingdom.
Its terms were negotiated shortly before the
2019 general election and concluded immediately after it, in December of that year. The withdrawal agreement as a whole, including the protocol, was ratified in January 2020. The
Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border
The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 1999 has had a special status since the
thirty-year internecine conflict in Northern Ireland was ended by the
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
of 1998. As part of the
Northern Ireland Peace Process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
, the border has been largely invisible, without any physical barrier or custom checks on its 270 crossing points; this arrangement was made possible by both countries' common membership of both the
EU's Single Market and
Customs Union
A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a)
Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set up ...
and of their
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...
.
On the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the border in Ireland became the only land border between the UK and EU.
EU single market and
UK internal market provisions require certain customs checks and trade controls at their external borders. The Northern Ireland Protocol is intended to protect the EU single market, while avoiding imposition of a '
hard border
The impact of Brexit on Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the Irish border and its adjacent polities involves changes in trade, customs, immigration checks, local economies, services, recognition of qualifications, medical cooperat ...
' that might incite a recurrence of conflict and destabilise the relative peace that has held since the end of "
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
".
Under the Protocol, Northern Ireland is formally outside the EU single market, but
EU free movement of goods rules and
EU Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union (EUCU), formally known as the Community Customs Union, is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the European Union (EU), Monaco, and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekel ...
rules still apply; this ensures there are no
customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
checks or controls between Northern Ireland and the rest of the island. Goods from Northern Ireland may be moved without restriction to Great Britain but not conversely. Thus, in place of an Ireland/Northern Ireland land border, the protocol has created a ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' customs
border in the Irish Sea, separating Northern Ireland from Great Britain,
to the disquiet of prominent
Unionists.
Under the terms of Article 18, the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
has the power (after 31 December 2024) to decide whether to terminate or continue the protocol arrangements. "The Withdrawal Agreement doesn’t state how Northern Ireland should give consent
o continue
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
– it is for the UK to determine how that decision is made" but the UK Government has already declared that the decision will be made by a simple majority of Assembly members.
In the event that consent is not given, the arrangements would cease to apply two years thereafter. The Joint Committee would make alternative proposals to the UK and EU to avoid a hard border on the island of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. If consent is given, then the question may be put again after a further four years.
At the
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, parties favouring continuance of the protocol won 53 of the 90 seats.
In June 2022, the Government introduced a
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is a proposed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to unilaterally override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP). The NIP is that part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that governs ...
that would unilaterally disapply parts of the Protocol if enacted.
Historical context
In 1921, the western and southern four-fifths of
the island of Ireland seceded from the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
as the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
(renamed in 1937 as "Ireland" ( ga, Éire) and "described" in 1948 as the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
). The north-eastern fifth, renamed
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, remained part of the United Kingdom, which became the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The "province" (as Northern Ireland is often known) had suffered sectarian tensions and at times outbreaks of serious violence between
Unionists, who wish to remain part of the UK and trace their origin to the
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
, and
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
, who seek a
united Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
. The most recent of these, known as '
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
', occurred during the period from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. One of its features was that the
Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border
The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 1999 was heavily fortified and militarised. In 1998, the Belfast Agreement/ Good Friday Agreement brought the conflict to an end and the border was demilitarised. Since both states were members of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
at the time and operate a
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...
, there was no other border infrastructure.
In the Brexit referendum of 2016, nearly 56% of Northern Irish voters opted to remain in the EU, though the overall UK-wide vote was 52% to leave. A subsequent study suggests that leave was supported by a majority of unionists (66%), while remain was supported by a majority of nationalists (88%) and by those who did not identify as unionist or nationalist (70%).
Following the
Brexit referendum, the
first May government decided that not only should the United Kingdom leave the European Union but also that it should leave the
European Union Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union (EUCU), formally known as the Community Customs Union, is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the European Union (EU), Monaco, and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekel ...
and the European Single Market. This meant that a customs and regulatory border would arise between the UK and the EU. Whilst the sea border between Great Britain and continental Europe was expected to present manageable challenges, the UK/EU border in Ireland was recognised as having rather more intractable issues. These were summarised in what became known as the Brexit Trilemma, because of three competing objectives: no
hard border on the island; no customs
border in the Irish Sea; and no British participation in the European Single Market and the European Union Customs Union. It is not possible to have all three.
Negotiation
Irish backstop
The Protocol replaced the Irish backstop, the rejected first attempt to resolve the trilemma. The "backstop" (also formally called the Northern Ireland Protocol) was an appendix to a draft
Brexit withdrawal agreement
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
developed by the
May government and the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
in December 2017 and finalised in November 2018. This proposal provided for the UK as a whole to have a common customs territory with the EU until a solution was delivered that would avoid the need for evident customs controls at the UK/EU border in Ireland and also avoid any customs controls within the UK (between Northern Ireland and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
). The "backstop" element was that the arrangement would have continued to apply potentially indefinitely unless the UK and the EU were jointly to agree on a different arrangement for the border in Ireland.
The backstop would have required keeping
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in some aspects of the European Single Market.
The
Irish government
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, the
SDLP
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irela ...
and the cross-community
Alliance Party and
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
supported the backstop proposal, whereas the
DUP,
UUP and
TUV were opposed. By early 2019, the
Westminster Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
had voted three times against ratifying this version of Withdrawal Agreement and thus also rejected the backstop.
Attempted changes to the backstop concept
After becoming
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
on 24 July 2019,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
sought to remove the backstop; this was refused by the EU, who wanted a legally operational solution. On 2 October, Johnson presented a potential replacement for the 2018 Irish backstop, proposing that Northern Ireland stay aligned with the EU on product standards but remain in the UK customs territory. This would necessitate product checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but no customs checks for goods expected to stay within the UK. For the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, his proposal would entail customs checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic, which would be potentially assisted by unspecified technology implemented distantly from the border, but no product and safety standard checks within the island of Ireland. This was rejected by the EU.
Protocol principle agreed
On 10 October 2019, Johnson and the Irish (Prime Minister)
Leo Varadkar
Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...
held "very positive and very promising" talks that led to a resumption in negotiations,
and a week later, on 17 October, Johnson and
Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...
announced that they had reached agreement (subject to ratification) on a new Withdrawal Agreement which replaced the backstop with a new protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
In the formally negotiated Withdrawal Agreement, the 'Irish backstop' was removed, and replaced by this new protocol. The whole of the UK would leave the
EU Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union (EUCU), formally known as the Community Customs Union, is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the European Union (EU), Monaco, and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekel ...
as a single customs territory with Northern Ireland included in any future British
trade agreements
A trade agreement (also known as trade pact) is a wide-ranging taxes, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. It exists when two or more countries agree on terms that help them trade with each other. The most common tr ...
, but that Northern Ireland would adopt EU Single Market regulations on goods and thus remain an entry point into the EU Customs Union.
Doing so would prevent a "
hard border
The impact of Brexit on Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the Irish border and its adjacent polities involves changes in trade, customs, immigration checks, local economies, services, recognition of qualifications, medical cooperat ...
" on the island of Ireland. The Protocol includes some protections for human rights and equality measures in its Article 2 and specific EU anti-discrimination measures are listed in Annex 1.
This new protocol has been dubbed by some as "
Chequers
Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...
for Northern Ireland", due to its similarity with the UK-wide
Chequers future relationship plan proposed by
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
, which had previously been rejected by the EU and denounced by Johnson.
During the
2019 election campaign, a leaked
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...
analysis explained some of the implications of the protocol. The undated paper said Northern Ireland would be cut off from whole swathes of the UK Internal Market, would face shortages and prices rises in shops and would effectively be severed from the UK's economic union. Asked about the report at press conference, Prime Minister Johnson said "there will be no checks on goods going from GB to NI, and from NI to GB".
Starting position
Rather than being a fallback position as the backstop was intended to be, the protocol specifies the arrangements for Northern Ireland for at least the first four years beginning January 2021.
Its status thereafter is subject to continued democratic consent in Northern Ireland to the continuance of Articles 5 to 10.
Article 18 specifies that it is a matter for the British government to determine how this consent is determined: it has declared that it is to be decided by a simple majority of members of the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
.
Provisions
Article 1: Protocol objectives
Article 1 of the protocol establishes that it is without prejudice to the provisions in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) relating to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the consent principle. The 1998 Agreement specifies that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and that this position will not change without the consent of a majority in Northern Ireland voting in a referendum.
Article 2: Rights of individuals
Article 2 of the protocol provides that the UK's exit from the EU shall not cause any diminution in the rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity in the 1998 Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Agreement). The provision also protects specific EU anti-discrimination measures found in Annex 1 to the protocol. In this Article, the UK also agrees to facilitate the work of the
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the National human rights institutions, national human rights institutio ...
, the
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ''Coimisiún Comhionannais do Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Equalitie Commission fer Norlin Airlan'') is a non-departmental public body in Norther ...
and the joint committee of the island's two human rights commissions.
Article 3: Common Travel Area
Article 3 recognises the right of the United Kingdom and Ireland to continue the
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...
, their bilateral agreement on free movement of British and Irish citizens between their jurisdictions.
Articles 4 and 5: Customs territory, customs controls and movement of goods
Article 4 affirms that Northern Ireland is and remains part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is thus part of any future UK
trade deals and nothing in the Protocol inhibits any agreement that allows exports from Northern Ireland on the same basis as those from Great Britain.
Article 5 deals with customs duties. No such duties apply to movement of goods (in either direction) between Northern Ireland and Great Britain unless the goods are intended (or at risk of) onward transfer to the Union. EU
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s from third countries collected by the UK on behalf of the EU, would be levied on the goods going from
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
to Northern Ireland that are "at risk" of then being transported into and sold in the Republic of Ireland; if they ultimately aren't, then firms in Northern Ireland can claim
rebates on goods where the UK had lower tariffs than the EU. The joint committee will decide which goods are deemed "at risk".
The effect of these articles is that there is a ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' customs border on the
island of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,
but a ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
''
customs border
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
down the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
.
Article 6: Protection of the UK internal market
Article 6 affirms that goods from Northern Ireland shall have unfettered access to the rest of the
UK internal market. "The Joint Committee shall keep the application of this paragraph under constant review and shall adopt appropriate recommendations with a view to avoiding controls at the ports and airports of Northern Ireland to the extent possible."
Article 7: Technical regulations, assessments, registrations, certificates, approvals and authorisations
Article 7 states that it is UK law that applies to goods offered for sale in Northern Ireland, except in respect of veterinary certificates or official labels for plant reproductive material.
Article 8: VAT and excise
Article 8 says that some provisions of the EU law on VAT and excise duties apply in Northern Ireland but are collected and retained by the UK.
Article 9: Single electricity market
Article 9 governs the wholesale
electricity market
In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...
that operates on the island of Ireland.
Article 10: State aid
Article 10 of the Protocol deals with
state aid, popularly known as the
level playing field
In commerce, a level playing field is a concept about fairness, not that each player has an equal chance to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules.
In a game played on a playing field, such as rugby, one team would have an unfai ...
provision (which is covered more generally in Article 93 of the overall Withdrawal Agreement). The provisions of various EU laws apply to the United Kingdom as a whole, including state support for the production of and trade in agricultural products in Northern Ireland, "in respect of measures which affect that trade between Northern Ireland and the Union which is subject to this Protocol".
Article 11: Other areas of North-South cooperation
Article 11 states that the "Protocol shall be implemented and applied so as to maintain the necessary conditions for continued North-South cooperation" in a variety of areas.
Article 12: Implementation, application, supervision and enforcement
Article 12 affirms that the UK is "responsible for implementing and applying the provisions of Union law made applicable by this Protocol to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland" and that EU representatives have the right to be present when it does so. The Article requires both sides to exchange information on a monthly basis.
This article also states that the
Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quart ...
(CJEU) has jurisdiction over interpretation of applicable EU laws (those listed in Article 19).
Article 13: Common provisions
This article is primarily concerned with interpretation of terms. As the protocol provides for application of EU-law in many areas there is a role for the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
with regards to procedures in case of non-compliance as well as the possibility and requirement for UK courts to ask for
preliminary ruling
A preliminary ruling is a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the interpretation of European Union law that is given in response to a request (preliminary reference) from a court or a tribunal of a member state. A preliminary rulin ...
s on the application of EU law and related parts of the protocol.
Articles 14 and 15: Specialised Committee and joint consultative working group
These articles cover bodies established to ensure effective operation of the protocol.
Article 16: Safeguards
Article 16 states that "if the application of this Protocol leads to serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to diversion of trade, the Union or the United Kingdom may unilaterally take appropriate safeguard measures. Such safeguard measures shall be restricted with regard to their scope and duration to what is strictly necessary in order to remedy the situation. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of this Protocol."
Article 17: Protection of financial interests
This article states that the parties will work against fraud.
Article 18: Democratic consent in Northern Ireland
Article 18 of the Protocol defines a mechanism by which members of the Northern Ireland Assembly can declare their consent to the continued operation of the Protocol or bring to an end Articles 510, as determined by simple majority of those voting. The first consent vote is scheduled for December 2024. If members vote against continuing with these arrangements, then there will be a two-year period for the UK and EU to agree to new arrangements, with recommendations made by a joint UK-EU committee. If the Assembly supports the continuance of Articles 5–10 with a majority vote, the provisions will continue for a further four years before another vote is taken; if the Assembly supports their operation on a
cross-community basis, the articles will continue for eight years.
Article 19: Annexes
Annexes 1 to 7 form an integral part of this Protocol. Annexes 1 to 5 list the EU laws referenced in the earlier Articles. Annex 6 and 7 give the procedures referenced in Articles 10 and 16. Among other matters, this article requires that goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland must carry
CE marking
On commercial products, the letters CE (as the logo ) mean that the manufacturer or importer affirms the good's conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards. It is not a quality indicator or a certificatio ...
; they may also carry
UKCA marking
UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking is a conformity mark that indicates conformity with the applicable requirements for products sold within Great Britain.
The UKCA marking became part of UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period, on ...
and/or
UKNI marking.
Political reaction to implementation
Unionist reaction
Unionist reaction to the Protocol was uniformly negative. In October 2020, the ''de facto'' border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland bore criticism from
Lord Empey, the Ulster Unionist Party's chief negotiator during the Good Friday Agreement and former
Stormont minister. He described
a border on the Irish Sea as "the most significant change that has taken place since partition" and that "Northern Ireland's centre of gravity could gradually move in a Dublin/Brussels direction. This cannot be without constitutional consequences." In February 2021, then DUP leader
Arlene Foster objected to its implicit "red line down the Irish Sea", contrary to the Prime Minister Johnson's assurances.
Anger over the protocol has contributed to rising tensions in the Unionist community which
led to street violence in the loyalist
Sandy Row
Sandy Row () is a large inner city estate in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lends its name to the surrounding residential community, which is predominantly Protestant working-class. The Sandy Row area had a population of 2,153 in 2001; in ...
district of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
on 2 April 2021. Up to 300 people were involved in disorder, 15 police officers were injured and there were 8 arrests. Eight prominent unionists who negotiated the 1998 Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement), including
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He wa ...
, called in May 2021 for the suspension of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In September 2021, the four Unionist parties (DUP, PUP, TUV and UUP) released a joint declaration affirming their "opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, its mechanisms and structures" and reaffirmed their "unalterable position that the protocol must be rejected and replaced by arrangements which fully respect Northern Ireland's position as a constituent and integral part of the United Kingdom." However the parties declined to form an electoral pact that might maximise the number of anti-protocol MLAs to vote on continuance of the protocol as provided for in Article 18.
Other critics
In January 2021, Northern Ireland-born former Labour MP and Brexit campaigner
Kate Hoey
Catharine Letitia Hoey, Baroness Hoey (born 21 June 1946), better known as Kate Hoey, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Home Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister for Sport from 1999 t ...
criticised the British government for erecting a
trade border "down the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
" in other words, between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. She stated that in order to prevent a 'hard border' on the island of Ireland, customs and other controls have instead been imposed on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and that Northern Ireland remains for many purposes in the EU Single Market and Customs Union, subject to a regulatory regime into which it has no input.
Reaction of nationalist and cross-community parties
In September 2020, the two main nationalist parties (Sinn Féin and the SDLP) and the two main cross-community parties (the Alliance Party and the Green Party) expressed support for the Protocol and called for its 'rigorous implementation'. Alliance Party leader and Stormont Justice Minister
Naomi Long
Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party ...
said there was a need for "pragmatic solutions" to protocol matters rather than for "people to escalate this into a constitutional crisis".
Notwithstanding clauses
In September 2020, the British government drew up legislation
that would give ministers the power to define what state aid needs to be reported to the EU and what products that are at risk of being brought into Ireland from Northern Ireland,
which it defended as clarifying ambiguity in the protocol. Before publication Ursula von der Leyen said that this could break international law and in answer to a question in the House of Commons the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Brandon Lewis
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and ...
said that the government's planned
Internal Market Bill would "break international law" in a "specific and limited way", by introducing new powers to circumvent certain treaty obligations to the EU as set out in the
withdrawal agreement. The draft provision led to the resignation of a senior Government lawyer and the Advocate General for Scotland.
These clauses were criticised by Sinn Féin and Taoiseach
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...
said "trust has been eroded". In October, the European Commission started an infringement procedure, and in December the
EU-UK Joint Committee reached an agreement on practical aspects which allowed the UK Government to remove the controversial clauses before the bill became law.
Public views on the Protocol
An opinion poll ('Testing the Temperature') commissioned by
Queen's University Belfast and carried out 24–28 March 2021, asked if the Protocol is on balance ‘a good thing’ for Northern Ireland. 44% of those questioned disagreed, 43% agreed and 9% had a neutral opinion.
In a second poll, commissioned by
BBC Spotlight
''BBC Spotlight'' is the BBC's regional TV news programme for the South West of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset, western Dorset and the Channel Islands. There is also a special version of the p ...
and carried out 5–7 April 2021, 48% of those polled wanted the Protocol to be scrapped and 46% said it should be retained.
In a poll commissioned by the ''
Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...
'' and carried out between 14 and 17 May 2021, 59% of those polled were worried about the prospect of violence related to the protocol over Summer 2021.
Queen's University repeated their March poll between 11 and 14 June 2021. 48% (+4%) of those polled thought that the Protocol was on balance bad for Northern Ireland and 43% (=) thought it was on balance good. When asked if the Protocol was an 'appropriate means for managing the effects of Brexit on Northern Ireland', the response split with 47% agreeing and 47% disagreeing.
In October 2021 Queen's University published a third edition of their Testing the Temperature report. In the third report the percentage of respondents who believe the Protocol provides an appropriate means of managing the effects of Brexit has increased to 53% (42% disagreeing), while 52% believe that on balance the Protocol is a good thing for Northern Ireland (41% disagreeing). Respondents see negative features of the Protocol with 59% believing it has impacted negatively on political stability.
A survey of 1000 participants in October 2021 by Social Market Research for the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
found the protocol to be the fourth most significant issue for respondents with about 10% putting it as their first or second concern; 55% (v 24%) found the EU's compromise proposals acceptable (as did a majority of DUP voters).
Legal challenge
In June 2021, the High Court of Northern Ireland in Belfast ruled against an application (''In re Jim Allister and others (EU Exit)'') brought by several Unionist and pro-Brexit politicians to have the Protocol declared unlawful on several grounds, including that it is in conflict with the
Acts of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
and thus unconstitutional. The Court ruled that the Protocol indeed runs counter to the free trade provisions of the Acts (Article VI), but the
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes legal provision for ratifying the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and incorporating it into the domestic law of the United Ki ...
also has constitutional effect and had
implicitly repealed that aspect of the Acts of Union. The court also rejected arguments based on the Northern Ireland Act, the European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law. Likewise, the court rejected a challenge to the Regulations, which provided that the consent mechanism in the Protocol was not to be subject to the cross-community voting rules in the Assembly. In November 2021, not content with the decision of the High Court, the applicants appealed.
The appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal, but the case reached the Supreme Court in late autumn 2022 under the lead name of convicted loyalist Clifford Peeples (''In the matter of an Application by Clifford Peeples for a Judicial Review (Appellant) (Northern Ireland)''.
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election
At the election to the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
in May 2022, parties (Alliance, SDLP, Sinn Féin) that accepted the protocol as mitigating
some
Some may refer to:
*''some'', an English word used as a determiner and pronoun; see use of ''some''
*The term associated with the existential quantifier
*"Some", a song by Built to Spill from their 1994 album ''There's Nothing Wrong with Love''
*S ...
of the adverse effects of Brexit (which Northern Ireland had voted against), won 52 of the 90 seats in the Assembly. Parties opposed to the principle of a distinct arrangement for Northern Ireland (the DUP, TUV and two Independent Unionists) secured 28 seats. The UUP, which secured nine seats, although opposed to the protocol as it stands, it would accept it given significant changes.
Even with the UUP opposed, this suggests a 5337 vote in favour of continuance,
but this still means that neither Brexit nor the protocol has
cross-community support
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in ot ...
.
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
On 13 June 2022, the Government introduced the
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is a proposed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to unilaterally override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP). The NIP is that part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that governs ...
(that seeks to unilaterally override parts of the Protocol), giving the dissatisfaction of the DUP as its reason to do so. In response, 52 of the 90
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
About
The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...
signed a strongly-worded letter informing the Prime Minister that the proposed Bill would be contrary to the wishes of the majority of people in Northern Ireland. The
Democratic Unionist Party (25 MLAs) welcomed the Bill. However
Sammy Wilson MP, a leading member of the party, said that the DUP would not participate in
Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive unless and until the Bill is enacted and brought into force. ( , the Assembly is in abeyance because the DUP has declined to take up the post of Deputy First Minister, citing the Protocol as its reason for this decision. The executive cannot operate without
cross-community support
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in ot ...
.)
Implementation
Plans before Brexit
According to the UK's implementation plan (July 2020), a system for checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will need three types of electronic paperwork, as detailed in an eleven-page document.
On 17 December 2020, the Joint Committee (led by Gove and Šefčovič) agreed a set of documents to give practical effect to the agreement.
Border control posts
![Belfast border control post on Duncrue Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Belfast_border_control_post_on_Duncrue_Street.jpg)
To operate the terms of the protocol, the United Kingdom must provide border control posts at Northern Ireland's ports:
actual provision of these facilities is the responsibility of Northern Ireland's
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is a government department in the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved administration for Northern Ireland. The minister with overall responsibility for the department i ...
(DAERA).
Temporary buildings were put in place for 1 January 2021, but in February 2021, the responsible Northern Ireland minister,
Gordon Lyons
Gordon Lyons (born 6 March 1986) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Lyons has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim since August 2015.
Lyons worke ...
(DUP), ordered officials to stop work on new permanent facilities and to stop recruiting staff for them.
Despite an instruction by the UK
Environment Secretary (
George Eustice
Charles George Eustice (born 28 September 1971) is a British politician and former public relations executive who held office as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between 2020 and 2022. A member of the Conservative Par ...
),
DAERA Minister
Edwin Poots
Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...
(DUP) (who had taken over the portfolio from Gordon Lyons) continued to resist doing so.
In April 2021, the
permanent secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of the DAERA told a Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 15 April 2021 that the permanent border control posts were not expected to be built before 2023, subject to the agreement of the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...
. He added that the 'business case' would not be ready before October 2021, despite the fact that contractors had already been engaged.
Northern Ireland's
Chief Veterinary Officer Chief veterinary officer (CVO) is the head of a veterinary authority (typically a national government service comprising veterinarians, other professionals and paraprofessionals). They have the responsibility and competence for ensuring or supervisi ...
told the committee meeting that only a quarter of the checks required on goods entering the single market were being carried out at the temporary posts.
In its half yearly financial report 26 August 2021,
Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group plc is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Irish Continental Group als ...
, which operates ferries between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, expressed concern at the lack of implementation of checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, as required under the protocol. The company said that the continued absence of these checks (on goods destined for the Republic of Ireland) is causing a distortion in the level playing field, since goods that arrive directly into Republic of Ireland ports from Great Britain are checked on arrival.
In a report published 28 January 2022, EU inspectors declared that the system of checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland did not comply with EU rules and was "not fit for purpose". They said that the UK government has "failed to ensure that sufficient resources have been made available to the responsible competent authorities in Northern Ireland". In April 2022 it was reported that EU member states were concerned that "a grey zone of unregulated goods entering the EU via Northern Ireland is developing".
Grace period
The agreement provided for a delay of three months (ending 31 March 2021) to allow retailers, wholesales and logistics operations time to adjust to the new arrangements for goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The UK government asked through the Joint Committee structures for an extension of two years on these checks, claiming to anticipate severe difficulties with food supply in Northern Ireland. On 3 March 2021, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland informed the UK Parliament of the Government's intention to instead unilaterally extend the grace period post-Brexit checks for a shorter six-month period.
Following this announcement, the EU threatened legal action claiming the action was outside the Protocol process and was the second time the UK had sought to breach international law in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol,
an action backed by
Simon Coveney
Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since December 2022 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affai ...
, the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
. On 9 April 2021 Bloomberg claimed that the EU is set to postpone the threatened legal action against the United Kingdom as a result of
tensions in Northern Ireland. The EU announced 27 July 2021 that it was pausing its legal action against the United Kingdom to "buy time and space to consider the changes to the protocol sought by the UK".
The European Parliament, which had yet to ratify the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, postponed making a decision pending a resolution to the proposed infringement.
It was announced 28 April 2021 that the agreement had been ratified.
Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots announced 1 June 2021 a unilateral delay to the introduction of checks on pets moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Checks were to be introduced on 1 July 2021 under the terms of the Protocol but are now delayed until 'at least' October.
Unilateral extensions of the grace period
Under the terms of the Protocol, chilled meat products from Great Britain such as sausages were due to be banned from Northern Ireland after 1 July 2021. On 17 June 2021 the British Government requested an extension of the grace period on chilled meats until 30 September. The EU agreed to the three-month extension 30 June 2021.
The UK government unilaterally announced an indefinite extension of all grace periods 6 September 2021 to allow time for further discussions. The European Commission issued a statement that it 'took note' of the UK announcement, but did not threaten any legal action.
Attempts to renegotiate
On 4 October 2021, the UK government issued a veiled threat to disavow the Northern Ireland protocol, warning that it "cannot wait for ever" for the EU to respond to its demands to rewrite the Protocol. The Brexit minister,
David Frost
Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
stated that the EU must come back with 'ambitious' proposals to renegotiate the protocol. On 7 October, the EU responded, urging the UK to drop the "political rhetoric", saying that they would make "far-reaching proposals" to break the impasse. The main point of contention for the UK is the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) responsibility to adjudicate on disputes that arise from interpretation of EU law (where the protocol applies them to Northern Ireland). In a speech at the British Embassy in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
on 12 October, in advance of publication of the commission's latest proposals, Frost declared his view that the Protocol was "not working", was "shredding the Good Friday Agreement", and was becoming "the biggest source of mistrust between us". On the same day, the ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' described the sides as "at loggerheads". On 6 November 2021,
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
reported that talks between Frost and
Šefčovič had ended "in deadlock" and that the European Commission had warned of "serious consequences" for the UK should it trigger Article 16.
Talks were suspended on 18 December 2021, to resume in January 2022. The UK side had let it be known (but subsequently denied) that it was willing to defer indefinitely its desire to remove the CJEU clauses. The EU side announced that it had decided to change EU law such to waive a range of formalities on medicines and ensure "that everyone in Northern Ireland has access to the same medicines, at the same time, as in the rest of the United Kingdom".
On 18 December, Lord Frost announced his resignation as the UK's Brexit minister, citing a number of
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
concerns over the Government's domestic policies.
Article 16
Article 16 of the protocol is a
safeguard clause within the Northern Ireland Protocol that allows either party to take unilateral "strictly necessary" measures if applying the protocol "leads to serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to
diversion of trade". The other party can then take "strictly necessary" proportionate rebalancing measures. Article 16 says that priority should be given to measures and rebalancing measures that 'least disturb the functioning' of the Protocol. There is further elaboration of this article 16 in Annex 7 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. This annex says that these unilateral measures may (except for exceptional circumstances) only be applied one month or more after notifying the other party about them.
Imports from Great Britain
Northern Ireland receives a large proportion of its food and other imports from Great Britain and there have been complaints that strict application of the restrictions under the Northern Ireland Protocol either already have created artificial shortages in Northern Ireland or that they have the potential for creating greater shortages in the future.
On 13 January 2021 British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
first suggested the possibility of invoking Article 16 of the Protocol when answering a question in Parliament from a
DUP MP,
and promised to invoke Article 16 in answer to another DUP MP on 3 February to "ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea".
COVID-19 vaccinations from the EU
In January 2021, the
Von der Leyen Commission
The von der Leyen Commission is the current European Commission, in office since 1 December 2019 and is to last until the 2024 elections. It has Ursula von der Leyen as its president and it further consists of one commissioner from each of the ...
was in a dispute with
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...
on the contractual details of
the latter's COVID-19 vaccine and whether it was providing its "best efforts" to supply the EU with its product.
On 29 January, the Commission published an export transparency mechanism to gain oversight of the movement of vaccines. This included reference to the possible use of Article 16 in introducing
export controls
Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...
, to prevent supplies of vaccine intended for the Republic of Ireland moving to Britain via Northern Ireland.
This move was criticised in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the UK, with Northern Ireland's first minister
Arlene Foster calling it "an absolutely incredible act of hostility".
[ The Commission reversed its proposal a few hours later.][ The Spanish foreign minister said the roposeduse of Article 16 was an "accident" and "mishap" that had been resolved.]
See also
* Kenneth Clarke proposal for an EU/UK customs union, which would have avoided the need for any NI border. The Government defeated the proposal with DUP support
* 2021 Northern Ireland riots
* Switzerland–European Union relations:
** " Bilateral I" enables free trade in agriculture and food,
** Common Veterinary Area (part of Bilateral II), enables free trade in animals and animal products
Notes
References
External links
* (Shortcut to "Protocols" section of overall "Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community")
*
*
* (UUP's "proposed alternatives")
*
*
*
* (Dr McCormick was a senior civil servant in Northern Ireland and specifically the Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...
's lead on Brexit.)
**
*
{{Brexit topics
Brexit withdrawal agreement
Politics of Northern Ireland
Ireland–United Kingdom relations
Northern Ireland peace process