Northern Ireland Protocol

The Northern Ireland Protocol aimed to avoid checks along the border between Republic of Ireland which comes under the EU and the Northern Ireland which comes under United Kingdom, after Brexit. However, since it came into force in the year early 2021, this protocol has sparked disagreements between the EU and the UK because it disrupted trade between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Highlights

In the Brexit negotiations, all parties agreed that the protection of the 1998 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) is a priority. This meant land border were kept open while avoiding the creation of new infrastructure. This was easily possible when both Northern Ireland and Ireland were part of the EU. Both parties automatically shared the same EU rules regarding trade and no controls were required on the goods which were moving between them. With the occurrence of Brexit a new arrangement regarding trade was needed.

The EU requires that many products, such as eggs and milk, be checked on arrival from the various non-EU countries, while certain products, such as chilled meat, cannot be imported at all. The protocol agreed that Northern Ireland would continue to follow the rules which are related to EU on product standards to avoid all the checks occuring along the border. Instead, controls would be carried out on all the goods entering Northern Ireland from Scotland, England or Wales.

How are checks done?

There are checks in the ports of Northern Ireland and customs related documents must be completed. This has drawn criticism for the fact that a new border has been created in the Irish Sea. Until now, the full effect of the protocol has been limited by the suspension of the conducted checks which are so-called grace periods in some certain areas.

Changes asked for by the UK

The UK has made proposals to modify the protocol. These include the abolition of checks between the Northern Ireland and the. The UK has also proposed a new system that allows goods to circulate freely in Northern Ireland if they comply with UK or the EU regulations. They currently have to meet the EU standards. The UK government also wants to eliminate the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Commission in overseeing the operation of the protocol.

Proposal of the European Union

The EU said that the renegotiation is not possible and both the parties should honor the agreement. However, it has made proposals that it believes would reduce the checks which are conducted on food arriving in Northern Ireland by 80% and cut associated paperwork by half. The European Union also proposed reducing customs related information that companies must provide and intends to enact laws allowing drug trade between the Northern Ireland and the UK.