The European Union and the United Kingdom are getting closer to reaching an agreement that satisfies both parties and allows the application of the protocol to be unblocked for Northern Ireland.
They are so close that even some British media advanced that the agreement would be made public next Tuesday. In this way, after almost a year of tensions, the political blockade in Northern Ireland would be unblocked and tensions between Brussels and London would be reduced.
The objective of this agreement is to avoid the reinstatement of a physical border with the Republic of Ireland, a member country of the EU, which could threaten the fragile peace achieved in 1998 as it was unacceptable to Northern Irish republicans.
The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated as part of Brexit but London refused to implement it because it hurt the local economy and generated political tensions in an area with a troubled past.
Disagreements over protocol have not only redrawed the possibility of redrawing a border between the Republic of Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland on the map, but have also paralyzed the functioning of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Before Brexit, it was easy to transport goods across this border because both sides followed the same EU rules. After the UK’s departure, special trade arrangements were needed because Northern Ireland has a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.
While waiting for the details of the agreement to be made public, several British media suggest that the solution would be to establish two different routes for the goods that cross the Irish Sea.
The green lane would only be for trusted merchants carrying goods to Northern Ireland. These would be exempt from customs checks and controls. While the red lane would be for products going to the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU. The latter would undergo full controls and customs controls
The land border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland’s troubled political history. It was feared that the cameras or border posts, as part of these controls, could generate instability.
