London and the European Union reach an agreement on Northern Ireland

“It’s the start of a new chapter in our relationship”, welcomed the British Prime Minister. After months of tension and difficult negotiations, theth government of Rishi Sunak and the European Union reached an agreement on Monday February 27 to end their dispute over post-Brexit customs controls in Northern Ireland.

“I think what we agreed on today is historic.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

at a press conference

Signed in 2020, the Northern Irish Protocol regulates the movement of goods between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland, which has the only land border with the European Union. This protocol wanted to avoid a land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland which would risk weakening the peace concluded in 1998 after three bloody decades, while protecting the single European market.

Reduction of customs controls

The new agreement between the UK and the EU will significantly reduce the customs checks needed on goods from Britain arriving in Northern Ireland. It will also reduce the application of EU regulations in the British province. In recent months, the protocol had also become an internal political issue for Rishi Sunak. The British Prime Minister has faced criticism from unionists from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who are opposed to any questioning of Northern Ireland’s membership in the United Kingdom. The latter refuse any de facto application of European law in the British province and have blocked the functioning of the local executive for a year.