Brexit: What is the Northern Ireland protocol and why is it necessary?

Post-Brexit, Northern Ireland’s 310-mile border with the Republic of Ireland is the only land border between the UK and the European Union (EU).

Under an arrangement known as the Northern Ireland protocol, goods will not need to be checked along the Irish border when the new relationship between the UK and the EU begins on January 1. So how does it work?

The border is a sensitive subject due to the history of Northern Ireland and the agreements made to bring peace, which included the removal of visible border signs.

The fear is that if any infrastructure, such as cameras or border posts, were installed, it could become a target and generate political instability.

Under the protocol, Northern Ireland will continue to apply the EU customs rules and follow its rules on standard products (known as the Single Market for Goods).

And this will make checks on goods traveling from Northern Ireland (a non-EU country) to the Republic of Ireland (an EU country) unnecessary.

The protocol will enter into force on January 1, 2021, the first day of the new EU-UK relationship.

Until then, the UK remains in a transition period with the EU, which means that their trade relationship remains the same as before.

Although Northern Ireland will continue to comply with these EU standards, the rest of the UK will cease to do so after 31 December.

And that means that, to meet EU requirements, some controls will be needed on certain goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), creating a regulatory and customs border in the Irish Sea.

These controls are necessary to ensure:

The extent of the controls in Northern Ireland ports has yet to be agreed, but some union politicians strongly oppose this, fearing it will harm the British union.

Depending on the outcome of the trade talks between the UK and the EU, tariffs (taxes on imports) may be levied on goods “at risk” of moving from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland (which remains in the EU).

But if a duty was paid and the goods stayed in Northern Ireland, the money was refunded.

A joint committee, made up of UK and EU government officials, will determine which goods are at risk of being transferred to the EU.

The UK and the EU are currently negotiating a trade deal that aims to remove tariffs on each other’s products and keep controls to a minimum.

However, the Northern Ireland protocol will remain necessary regardless of whether or not a trade deal is agreed, because EU law requires some standard product controls, even if tariffs are removed.

The UK is legally bound to ensure that products entering Northern Ireland from Britain are verified, according to Jess Sargeant, in the Institute of Government think tank.

“If it appears that the UK is not applying EU law to the satisfaction of the EU, it could fine the UK or take it to the Court of Justice of the European Union,” he says.

And if companies are not prepared to comply with the new paperwork requirements, it could lead to delays at ferry ports and business interruptions.

The Northern Ireland protocol replaces the previous plan, known as the Irish backstop, negotiated by former UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

Had it been necessary, the endorsement would have kept the whole of the UK in close trade relationship with the EU, eliminating the need for checks along the Irish border.

However, that solution was rejected by many Conservative MPs who feared that the UK could be stuck in the deal for years.

This would have prevented the UK from negotiating its own trade agreements with other countries.