A “negotiated” solution rather than a frontal shock. The new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, said she was ready, on Wednesday September 7, to work with “all parties” to resolve the Northern Ireland status crisis.
In question, a protocol negotiated at the time of Brexit which creates a de facto customs border between the island of Great Britain and the British province, and which hinders trade flows between these territories. Designed to prevent the re-establishment of a physical border with neighboring Ireland which would risk undermining the peace concluded in 1998, the Northern Irish protocol keeps Northern Ireland in the European single market and customs union.
It was during the year 2019, when the negotiations on the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union were raging, that the Northern Irish protocol was established. The Anglo-Saxon press regularly describes this protocol as “the dynamite of Brexit”as it continues to crystallize tensions between the British and Europeans, but also within the United Kingdom itself.
As long as this text is not challenged, the Irish unionists indeed refuse to form a local executive, supposed to be shared with the republicans of Sinn Fein -uempty chair policy that has been going on for several months. As for the European Commission, it has launched a total of seven infringement procedures against London for non-compliance with the protocol.
Faced with these blockages, London introduced a law, still under parliamentary review, to reverse certain key provisions of this agreement. A unilateral decision that gave rise to threats of commercial reprisals from Brussels.
“We need to address the issues of the Northern Irish protocol, which has damaged the balance between communities in Northern Ireland”said Liz Truss during her first question and answer session in parliament as head of government on Wednesday. “I am determined to do so and determined to work with all parties to find a solution.”
“We can’t let this drag on because my number one priority is to protect the supremacy of the Good Friday Agreement.”she insisted, with reference to the text which in 1998 ended three decades of war between Unionists and Republicans, against a backdrop of sectarian conflict and debate on reunification with the Republic of Ireland.