Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland
When the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the European Union and the United Kingdom entered into force. The Withdrawal Agreement consists of two main documents:
- The Withdrawal Agreement itself, including a Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland; and
- A Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
On 24 December 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Union agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, an Agreement on Nuclear Cooperation and an Agreement on Security Procedures for Exchanging and Protecting Classified Information.
The transition period, during which EU laws continued to apply in the UK, ended on 31 December 2020. On 1st January 2021, therefore, the Ireland - Northern Ireland Protocol came into force. The objectives of the Protocol are set out in Article 1.
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Article 1 Objectives
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The remaining articles and associated annexes contained in the protocol are shown below.
Article |
Title and associated annexes |
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2 |
Rights of Individuals |
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3 |
Common Travel Area |
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4 |
Customs territory of the United Kingdom |
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5 |
Customs, movement of goods |
Articles 5-10 which deal with trade and alignment provisions ae subject to the democratic consent mechanism provided for in Article 18 |
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6 |
Protection of the UK internal market |
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7 |
Technical regulations, assessments, registrations, certificates, approvals and authorisations |
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8 |
Vat and excise |
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9 |
Single electricity market |
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10 |
State aid |
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11 |
Other areas of North-South cooperation |
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12 |
Implementation, application, supervision and enforcement |
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13 |
Common Provisions |
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14 |
Specialised Committee |
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15 |
Joint Consultative Working Group |
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16 |
Safeguards |
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17 |
Protection of Financial Interests |
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18 |
Democratic Consent in Northern Ireland |
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Further Papers on the Protocol
UK Government
- UK’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol
- Northern Ireland Protocol Command Paper
- Unilateral declaration on the consent mechanism (Article 18)
Joint Committee
The Joint Committee has a number of responsibilities deciding key issues under the Protocol, and has issued the following decisions in its meeting on 17th December 2020.
Meeting 17/12/2020
- EU Presence in Northern Ireland
- Definition of goods ‘not at risk’
- Errors and omissions in Annex 2
- Exemption of agricultural and fish subsidies from state aid rules (Art 12(2) of the Protocol)
The following unilateral declarations were also issued – they were declared by one party and “taken note of” by the other. They relate to grace periods and the extension of EU pharmaceutical law in Northern Ireland.
- Unilateral declaration on Article 10(1) (UK declaration)
- Unilateral declaration on human and veterinary medicines (EU declaration)
- Unilateral declaration on official certifications (UK declaration)
- Unilateral declaration on meat products (UK declaration)
- Unilateral declaration on export declarations (UK declaration)
Another meeting was held on 24th February 2021 and the Protocol was discussed further.
Meeting 24/2/2021
- UK and EU took stock of the implementation of the Protocol and reiterated their full commitment to proper implementation of the Protocol and to upholding the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement 1998.
- Agreed further engagement with business groups and other stakeholders in Northern Ireland
- UK noted that it would provide a new operational plan with respect to supermarkets and their suppliers and additional investment in digital solutions.
