Introduction

The 1998 Belfast or ‘Good Friday’ Agreement was a crucial stage in the Northern Ireland peace process. It followed a protracted, often violent, dispute, over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, known as the ‘Troubles’. Broadly speaking, the Unionist, Protestant community, the majority group in the territory, were supportive of continuing to be part of the UK; while the Nationalist, Catholic minority wanted to leave the UK and join with the Republic of Ireland. The 1998 Agreement allowed for representatives of both groups to share power with each-other in a devolved government (see: chapter 11) and provided for the population of Northern Ireland to determine its future status, as part of the UK or part of the Republic of Ireland. An important part of this package, which achieved a significant reduction in violence, was that there should be no hard border within the island of Ireland, between Northern Ireland the Republic.

Brexit has subjected the peace process and the Agreement that is central to it to substantial pressure. The Agreement did not expressly require the Republic and the UK, both of which had been members of the EU and its precursor organisations since 1973, to remain a part of the EU. However, the Agreement was arguably founded in the assumption of both states continuing to remain within it. At the referendum of 2016, a majority of those who voted in Northern Ireland, supported the ‘remain’ option (see: chapter 8). Nonetheless, there was a ‘leave’ result across the UK as a whole; and successive UK governments chose to interpret this outcome as meaning that the UK must depart, irrespective of diverse voting patterns within it. As well as entailing an outcome contrary to that which it had voted for, Brexit posed difficult questions for the maintenance of the peace settlement. Would it mean the appearance of a barrier between the Republic and Northern Ireland that was disruptive to the peace settlement? Avoiding this outcome was a major concern during the negotiations leading to Brexit, and in the period since UK departure from the EU.

Diving Deeper

The nature of the problem

It was not only Brexit, but the particular version of Brexit the UK decided to pursue, that led to complications. The UK was determined to leave the European Single Market and European Customs Union, pursuing its own regulatory and trade policies. It therefore seemed possible that clear differences over these matters would develop between the UK and the EU. Products produced in the UK, for instance, might not meet the standards enforced in the EU. In order to protect the integrity of the Single Market, the EU would need to find means of preventing the entry into it of such goods from the UK.

The EU judged that, to ensure the necessary protections, it would need to be able to carry out checks of some kind. If it were to apply controls within the island of Ireland, a hard border might appear between the Republic, inside the EU, and Northern Ireland, outside the EU, with the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland would become separate from the rest of the island of Ireland; and problem from the point of view of the peace process. The introduction of trade barriers would also threaten the prosperity of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the economies of which were closely intertwined.

The Protocol as a solution

Reaching a Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland that was acceptable to the EU, to the Republic of Ireland, to the UK government and to various political forces within Northern Ireland and the UK proved to a major challenge. It was one of the main reasons that Theresa May announced the intention to leave office as Conservative PM in May 2019. The proposed deal for which May ultimately failed to secure parliamentary approval included in it the so-called ‘backstop’. Under this proposal, the final means of preventing the appearance of a hard border on the island of Ireland involved the whole UK remaining within customs territory with the EU, but with Northern Ireland adhering to EU regulations that the remainder of the UK (Great Britain) did not. Criticism of the backstop included objections to the idea of Northern Ireland diverging from Great Britain over regulations; and of the UK lacking the ability to pursue its own trade agreements that differed from the EU.

The Northern Ireland Protocol was part of the exit deal reached with the EU under Boris Johnson, successor May as Conservative leader and PM. It was designed to ensure there would be no hard border on the island of Ireland. The means by which it set out to achieve this end was through Northern Ireland adhering to a various EU rules applying to products; and through customs checks being introduced between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Problems faced by the Protocol

An optimistic view of the Protocol was that it would enable Northern Ireland to obtain the benefits of the European Single Market and being inside the UK. However, the Protocol amounts to an exceptionally complicated arrangement, and has it was soon associated with difficulties. As the academic expert Kay Hayward put it ‘this is no ordinary international arrangement’ (Hayward, 2021). One particularly unusual feature of the Protocol was that involved the UK having to apply EU rules about the movement goods within UK territory. The Protocol came into force at the beginning of 2021, though there were certain ‘grace periods’ agreed, meaning that there was extra time to prepare for some of the provisions of the agreement before they were applied. Despite these mitigations, the agreement entailed considerable confusion and disruption for businesses, with new paperwork to complete and difficulties in the supply of goods such as food and plants.

The application of checks within the UK, and in this sense separating Northern Ireland from Great Britain, was hugely controversial for some sections of the Protestant, Unionist community. There have been concerns about a possible renewal in violence; and about the general undermining of the peace process. Some within the UK, including certain Conservative MPs, began to call for the UK to withdraw from the Protocol. Doing so, however, would be hugely controversial within the UK, and on the international stage. It might be regarded as a violation of international law (see: chapter 13). At the beginning of March, the UK government announced that it would delay further the implementation the introduction of checks including food for supermarkets. It did so without seeking agreement through the EU-UK Joint Committee set up under the Protocol. In response, the EU began legal proceedings for what it regarded as a breach of the Protocol.

Summary

Brexit raised problematic consequences for Northern Ireland and the associated peace process. A particular challenge involved how to avoid a hard border within the island of Ireland, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The policy of the UK government was to leave both the Single Market and the Customs Union. This approach was difficult from the point of view of the EU and its desire to protect the integrity of the Single Market.

The Northern Ireland Protocol addressed this issue by provided for checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, so they would not need to take place on the island of Ireland. Northern Ireland would continue to apply some EU regulations while Great Britain would not.

Early signs were that the Protocol was difficult to operate in practice. It generated strong opposition. The UK government in March 2021 decided to delay further implementation of aspects of the Protocol. It did so unilaterally, without working through the Joint Committee set up by the Protocol.

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