Northern Ireland Protocol: Political Significance and EU’s Legal Actions Against the UK 

The European Commission initiated four major infringement actions against the United Kingdom on Friday for failing to follow the Northern Ireland Protocol. In this vein, the EU executive alleges London of not adhering to relevant customs, supervisory, and risk management policies on the transit of goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. But what is Northern Ireland Protocol and why it is so crucial? This week we are tackling the matter of the Northern Ireland Protocol which is launched in the aftermath of Brexit to basically handle the specific customs and immigration concerns at the border between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the EU. 

Since the thirty-year internecine conflict in Northern Ireland was resolved by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the UK-Ireland border has had a special status. The border is pretty much invisible with no physical barriers or customs checks, and it is the core component of the Northern Ireland Peace Process, this arrangement was made feasible by both states' shared membership in the EU's Single Market and Customs Union, as well as their Common Travel Area.

Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, and Ireland still being in the EU and is likely to be so in the conceivable future; that border remained to be the only remaining land border between the UK and EU. Therefore, the Northern Ireland Protocol is designed to maintain the EU single market while preventing the implementation of a "hard border", which may spark a resumption of war and destabilize the peace that has prevailed.

With this in mind, the Northern Ireland Protocol provides Northern Ireland special status and guarantees its continued access to the EU's internal market for goods. Before entering Northern Ireland, goods arriving from the United Kingdom are subjected to inspections to verify they meet EU criteria.

However, there are some oppositions to that concept. Unionists advocate for Northern Ireland to be a part of the United Kingdom. They contend that a functioning frontier across the Irish Sea weakens Northern Ireland's position within the United Kingdom. The Democratic Unionists (DUP), which is Northern Ireland's main unionist party, have refused to participate in the government until its issues are addressed. The DUP finished second to Sinn Fein in the May elections, which is a nationalist party that supports the protocol. However, their cooperation is still needed in Northern Ireland to form the government.

The latest news affirms that The UK government was unable to adopt EU laws on VAT for e-commerce and has failed to indicate that it would follow EU regulations on indirect taxes, specifically on alcohol.  In brief, the UK is failing to provide the EU with the export notifications that Northern Ireland businesses are required to complete when transferring products to the UK, notably for the regulated commodities subject to bans and limitations.