Trade and Alignment Provisions

Articles 5-10 set out the provisions under which Northern Ireland can remain aligned with specific EU rules in customs, goods, VAT, and the Single Electricity Market. As this is defining a single regulatory system in which Northern Ireland goods are in the same competitive environment as those in Ireland, State aid rules apply for any measures affecting trade between Northern Ireland and the EU, including the operation of the Single Electricity Market. All these arrangements are subject to the ongoing consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and lapse if that consent is not given.

"Belfast port" by paddymccann is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In December 2020, the Co-Chairs of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee reached an agreement in principle to address the then outstanding issues related to the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, in particular the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Decisions 

At its fifth regular meeting, which took place on Thursday 17 December 2020 by videoconference, the UK-EU Joint Committee adopted the following decisions:

Decision no 3/2020 on amending the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community;

Decision no 4/2020 on the determination of goods not at risk (Art. 5(2) Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland);

Decision no 5/2020 on determining the initial maximum exempted overall annual level of support and the initial minimum percentage referred to in Article 10(2) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community;-

Decision no 6/2020 providing for the practical working arrangements relating to the exercise of the rights of Union representatives referred to in Article 12(2) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland;

The Parties also made a series of unilateral declarations regarding:

• • the application of Union law related to medicinal products in respect of Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period (EU and UK);
  • the application of Union law with regard to the import of certain meat products into Northern Ireland from Great Britain after the end of the transition period (UK and EU);
  • the application of Union law with regard to the certification required for certain food products brought into Northern Ireland (UK and EU);
  • the application of Union law with regard to export declarations for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the United Kingdom (UK and EU); and
  • the application of Art. 107 TFEU to situations referred to in Art. 10(1) of the Protocol (EU)

This House of Commons Library Research Briefing addresses the decisions and unilateral declarations.

The UK Government has also published a suite of guidance on moving goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland.

On 18 January 2021, the European Commission published a ‘Notice to Stakeholders – Withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU rules in the field of state aid’. Part B of the notice explains the rules applicable to Northern Ireland.

RaISe Briefing Papers