Changing the Brexit agreement would tighten both the internal situation in Northern Ireland and Britain’s neighborly relations with Ireland. Other EU countries do not take a good look at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s solo.
A bill is expected tomorrow Monday for the British government to unilaterally amend the Brexit agreement in Northern Ireland.
The position of Northern Ireland was one of the most difficult issues in the whole Brexit negotiations. For this reason, the unilateral secession planned by Britain will shock both neighboring Ireland and other EU countries.
The difficulties have their roots far beyond Britain’s EU divide, namely the controversial history of Northern Ireland and the 30-year bloody civil war. The war between Irish-minded Catholics and British-minded Protestants did not end in 1998 with a complex peace deal.
The political situation in the region remains fragile in the wake of the civil war, and the joint will and support of the Irish and British governments is needed to sustain it. Fostering this reconciliation was also a key goal in the Brexit negotiations.
The activities of the regional parliament were paralyzed
The secession planned by Britain is in line with the demands of one side of the Northern Ireland controversy, the stark unionists. The party DUP, which drives them, no longer represents a minority of voters in the region with their demands.
A majority of Northern Irish people opposed the secession from the EU, and now a majority is in favor of a one-off agreement. Newspapers have even reported that the DUP management has stated privately that the situation should not have been tightened to such an extent.
As a result of the controversy, the Northern Ireland Regional Parliament has also been paralyzed as the DUP, which is vying for the agreement, lost votes to other parties in the May regional elections.
Anti-British Sinn Fein has historically become the largest party in Northern Ireland.
However, now, in addition to customs control, the DUP is also opposed to Sinn Fein having a representative in the regional administration, in line with the election results, even though the two largest parties actually have the same amount of power in the administration.
British-Irish relations under test
Prime minister Boris Johnson the government has justified the soloization on the grounds that the customs controls agreed between britain and northern ireland are in breach of the 1998 peace agreement.
In the eyes of the other parties, the explanation is, to say the least, strange, because as late as the end of the Brexit twist in December 2020, Johnson himself accepted exactly the same terms of contract that he now wants to get rid of.
Negotiations on the practical application of customs conditions are still ongoing. The EU has also offered to be flexible on some of the most difficult points, such as EU requirements for the export of medicines to Northern Ireland.
Relations between Britain and independent Ireland have long been difficult, but joint efforts in the Northern Ireland peace process have brought neighboring countries closer together.
Now, however, the Brexit and the associated arbitrary take on the part of the British government have dropped relations to a new trough.