The Northern Ireland Protocol came into effect at the start of 2021 in an attempt to prevent hard border checks in Northern Ireland.
However, the protocol has prompted disagreements between the UK and the EU because of continuous trade disruption between the British and Northern Irish borders.
As border disruption grows, the UK government is said to be preparing plans to revoke the protocol.
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The Northern Ireland Protocol is a part of the United Kingdom’s Brexit trade deal and was implemented to avoid a hard Irish border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and the independent Republic of Ireland following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
While Brexit negotiations were underway, all sides agreed that preserving the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal, also known as the Good Friday agreement, was a significant priority.
The aim was to keep the Irish border open and avoid implementing new infrastructures like border posts.
While this was easy to do when both nations were part of the European Union and automatically shared the same rules on trade, new measures have been implemented since the UK left the European trading zone.
These new measures include checks on many food goods in Northern Irish ports.
What are the changes the government is demanding?
The UK government now maintains that the protocol has denoted a considerable compromise by the UK, and it has accused the Union of applying the rules too harshly.
Brexit Minister Lord Frost has submitted proposals to change the current border system, including getting rid of customs checks between the two countries.
Lord Frost has proposed a new system in which goods are able to circulate freely in Northern Ireland if they conform to either EU or UK customs regulations rather than just meeting EU standards.
The government also hopes to remove the European Commission and the European Court of Justice’s role in managing the protocol.
What if the UK cannot negotiate changes with the EU?
If the United Kingdom’s government fails to agree on the new protocol terms, it could take action by triggering Article 16.
Article 16 is a clause laid out in the Northern Ireland Protocol which allows either side to suspend any element of the agreement that causes “serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.
In a speech at the Conservative Party conference, Lord Frost said that triggering Article 16 may be the only way forward with the Northern Ireland Border.
However, the government says it won’t trigger it before holding talks with the European Commission in Brussels.
If the UK does decide to trigger Article 16, it could provoke the EU to respond with increased import tariffs on trade between the two European powers.
The EU has warned that triggering Article 16 would be “serious for Northern Ireland as it would lead to instability and unpredictability”.
Sources
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/840230/Revised_Protocol_to_the_Withdrawal_Agreement.pdf
https://members.parliament.uk/member/4879/contributions