Two years after the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU), London and Brussels have agreed to end their disputes over post-Brexit goods controls in Northern Ireland. After more than a year of negotiations marked by upheavals and tensions, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived on Monday, February 27, at “the agreement of Windsor” on this file, at the heart of great tensions.
A first version integrated into Brexit
Commonly referred to as the “Northern Ireland Protocol”, the Ireland-Northern Ireland Protocol was signed at the same time as the Brexit agreement on January 24, 2020. For the European Union, these two treaties were signed by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. For the United Kingdom, it was signed by Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister. The protocol entered into force on January 1, 2021.
The protocol is supposed to take into account the particular situation of the island of Ireland: it has been agreed between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) and the European Union a stable solution designed to protect the economy of the whole island as well as the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) in all its components, and to preserve the integrity of the EU single market.
Northern Ireland, which continues to be part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom, is subject to a set of EU rules relating to the single market for goods and the customs union. However, the protocol poses a practical problem: it introduces a system of checks and checks at points of entry on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom or any other third country. These goods are subject to EU customs duties, unless there is no risk of them entering the EU.
This system nevertheless guarantees the absence of checks and controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, thus avoiding the establishment of a physical border and ensuring the free movement of goods under the rules of the EU customs union.
Desire to simplify customs rules
The protocol was never fully implemented, however, as “grace periods” on controls were introduced and extended for products, such as non-frozen meat and medicines. Some companies have denounced excessive formalities, particularly in the field of pharmaceuticals, as noted by the House of Lords.
In a document published in the summer of 2022, London proposed to facilitate the movement of goods by dividing them into two categories: those destined for Northern Ireland would go in a “green lane” and would not be checked; a “red lane” would be reserved for products destined for Ireland and the rest of the EU. These products would be subject to full customs checks and controls. Brussels has nevertheless taken measures to respond to the difficulties encountered, in particular for medicines.
The February 27 Windsor Agreement aims to drastically reduce the necessary customs checks on goods from Britain arriving in Northern Ireland. It must also, if approved by British parliamentarians, reduce the application of EU regulations in the British province.
Tensions with the Northern Irish DUP and the Conservatives
But barely entered into force, the protocol had given rise to tensions between the European Union and London. After the launch of a unilateral review of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit status, the European executive had launched a series of procedures against London. It has above all become an internal problem for the authority of Rishi Sunak, faced with the opposition of Brexit hardliners and that of the unionists of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), fiercely opposed to any questioning of the membership of the Northern Ireland in the UK.
Northern Ireland has not had a government since February 2022. Despite successive ultimatums and apparent progress in negotiations between London and Brussels on this subject, London has failed to convince the DUP to participate in an executive. Following the announcement of the London-Brussels deal, the DUP leader announced that he “will take the time to study the details and assess the deal”. Cautious, the British government announced in early February that it had postponed the deadline for holding elections in Northern Ireland to January 2024.
Hours before the meeting between Mr Sunak and Ms von der Leyen, a member of the eurosceptic wing of the prime minister’s party warned that Parliament should not rush to agree to a deal. “Ignoring Parliament usually ends badly,” Mark Francois, chairman of the European Research Group, which brings together Eurosceptic Conservative MPs in Parliament, told Sky News. “We need to get rid of EU law in Northern Ireland,” he argued.
Arriving in October 2022 in Downing Street, Rishi Sunak, yet a Brexiter from the start, launched an appeal to his divided party on Sunday in the Sunday Times, explaining that the agreement under discussion is not a threat. for Brexit but aims to “make sure Brexit works in every part of the UK”: “The work on Brexit remains unfinished and I want the job done”, he announced.