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The United States Senate is preparing to unveil a resolution outlining support for the Belfast Accord, the latest hint of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for the Northern Ireland peace process.
The development comes ahead of next week’s meeting between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and US President Joe Biden, which will take place online rather than in Washington due to the pandemic.
The resolution, the draft of which has been seen by The Irish Times, expresses its support “for the full implementation” of the agreement and subsequent efforts “to support peace on the island of Ireland.”
It also states that any new or modified trade agreement between the US and the UK must take into account that the conditions of the Belfast Agreement are met.
Protocol containment
Also mentioned is the Northern Ireland protocol, currently the subject of a fierce dispute between London and Brussels, following Britain’s decision to unilaterally delay the introduction of customs controls between the North and Britain.
The resolution is expected to go before the Senate early next week, before St. Patrick’s Day.
Noting that the protocol was intended to “protect the peace forged” under the Belfast Agreement, the draft resolution explicitly states that the reintroduction of “barriers, checkpoints or personnel on the island of Ireland”, including by invoking the Article 16 of Ireland’s Northern Protocol Act, “would threaten the successes of Good Friday [Belfast] Agreement”.
Brexit tensions
The resolution is being proposed by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, one of the highest positions in Congress, and Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine who has long supported Ireland in the Senate.
Washington has refocused on Brexit tensions in Northern Ireland with EU Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney briefing the Friends of Ireland caucus on Capitol Hill this week on the decision. Britain to delay custom checks.
Separately, the British government will send a senior official from the Northern Ireland office to Washington in an effort to expose Britain’s perspective on the latest Brexit developments.
The prominence of Irish affairs on Capitol Hill comes as Washington prepares to mark St. Patrick’s Day next week. Martin will hold his first bilateral meeting with Biden on Wednesday, while the president’s annual luncheon on Capitol Hill will be replaced by a virtual event.
Speaking last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is “unequivocal” in his support for the Belfast Accord, following London’s surprise move to extend the grace period for post-war checks. Brexit on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
“It has been the foundation of peace, stability and prosperity for all the people of Northern Ireland,” Ms Psaki said of the agreement when asked about the dispute over the functioning of the protocol.
According to the protocol, controls should start in April on some products moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. However, in a unilateral move, the British government said it would extend the grace period, a decision that has increased tensions between London, Brussels and Dublin.
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