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The Northern Ireland Protocol: What does each side want?

PA Media border force offices in BelfastPA Media

The UK and EU are engaged in a long-standing dispute over the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.

The arrangements - known as the protocol - keep Northern Ireland aligned to EU product standards in order to avoid introducing checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It also puts in place checks on goods moving from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) to Northern Ireland.

The existence of the protocol has caused tension in Northern Ireland, but reaching a viable solution requires finding an agreement that can satisfy all the interested groups.

So where does each side stands and what do they want?

UK government

EPA Foreign Secretary Liz TrussEPA
  • Boris Johnson's government wants to change parts of the protocol, which forms part of the deal it negotiated with the EU in 2019 and signed in 2020
  • It has published the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would allow some goods leaving Great Britain for Northern Ireland to go through "green lanes", meaning they would avoid customs checks provided they remain in Northern Ireland rather than going on to the Irish Republic
  • The UK government also wants to allow businesses in Northern Ireland to choose between meeting UK or EU standards in a new dual regulatory regime
  • The UK wants to scrap the European Court of Justice's role in overseeing the deal in favour of an alternative "dispute resolution process"
  • And the government says the UK should have more freedom to set VAT rates in Northern Ireland
  • Ministers hope that making changes to the agreement will persuade the DUP to return to power-sharing government in Northern Ireland
  • They say they want to reach a consensus with the EU

The EU

Reuters Maros SefcovicReuters
Slovakian diplomat Maros Šefčovič is leading negotiations for the EU
  • The EU has warned the UK against unilaterally changing the protocol, saying it would undermine trust between the two sides
  • It has launched legal action against the UK government, accusing it of breaking international law
  • The bloc has proposed reducing checks on products coming into Northern Ireland, but not eliminating them altogether
  • In exchange, it wants safeguards to stop goods moving from Great Britain into the Republic of Ireland
  • It says the UK needs to share more of its trade data with the EU
  • The EU has dismissed the UK's proposal to remove the European Court of Justice's role from the protocol

DUP

PA Media DUPPA Media
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson with party colleagues
  • Campaigned for Leave in the Brexit referendum
  • In recent elections, the DUP campaigned on a pledge of removing the Northern Ireland Protocol
  • It believes the protocol undermines Northern Ireland's constitutional status as it has created an internal UK border down the Irish Sea
  • The party's manifesto laid out seven tests for any special Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland which amounted to fundamental changes to the protocol
  • These include no checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
  • The party is blocking the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland in protest over the protocol - and says it wants to see "action not words" from the UK government

Sinn Féin

Reuters Sinn FéinReuters
Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill after meeting Boris Johnson
  • Campaigned for Remain
  • The largest party following the 5 May elections, it wants to see the immediate restoration of power-sharing
  • Sinn Féin says the protocol is necessary following Brexit
  • The party says it gives Northern Ireland access to both the EU and British markets, protects the Good Friday Agreement and prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland
  • The party agrees there are practical issues related to the operation of the protocol, but any solutions must be made through talks between the UK government and the EU
  • They do not support any prospect of unilateral action by the UK government.

Alliance

PA Media Naomi LongPA Media
Alliance party leader Naomi Long also met with the UK prime minister
  • Campaigned for Remain
  • It wants to see the immediate restoration of power-sharing
  • On the protocol, it acknowledges the need for flexibility but blames Brexit rather than the EU for Northern Ireland's latest problems
  • Alliance said mutually agreed, sustainable and legal solutions to the challenges posed are needed
  • It argues there's no reason the Stormont executive shouldn't get up and running while issues like the protocol are dealt with in parallel

UUP

PA Media Doug BeattiePA Media
Doug Beattie leads the Ulster Unionist Party
  • Campaigned for Remain
  • It wants to see the immediate restoration of power-sharing
  • The party is against the protocol
  • It said there can be no border in the Irish Sea and wants to see the removal of checks of goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
  • It said it was "regretful" that the UK may move unilaterally to change it, but the "stand-off cannot continue"

SDLP

PA Media SDLPPA Media
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood with other members of his party
  • Campaigned for Remain
  • It wants to see the immediate restoration of power-sharing
  • The party acknowledges there are a "small amount of issues with the protocol that remain outstanding"
  • But it says issues need to be sorted through negotiations between the UK and EU
  • It does not back unilateral action by the UK government.