In the wake of Brexit, London and Brussels managed to negotiate a new deal on trade with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. After lengthy negotiations, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, smoothed the last folds with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in England. He spoke of a decisive breakthrough.
The new agreement should remove the frustrations surrounding the existing protocol, which has been in force since early 2021. The protocol has been modified to allow for “smooth trading,” Sunak said. Von der Leyen spoke about a new chapter in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. She expressed confidence that the deal “will work for everyone.”
The idea behind the original agreements was that after Brexit there should not be another hard border between the Irish Republic, an EU member state, and Northern Ireland. It was therefore decided that Northern Ireland would remain part of the European single market. This meant that border controls were introduced for goods exchanged between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Annoyance
And precisely that has led to increasing annoyance among the British in recent years. The new deal offers an answer to this, among other things by making a distinction between British goods that have Northern Ireland as their final destination and goods that are then shipped to the EU.
The question remains how Sunak’s Conservative Party will react and, more importantly, the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The pro-British party has been blocking government formation in Northern Ireland for months out of dissatisfaction with the trade protocol.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.