Northern Ireland gets a Govt after two years

Northern Ireland finally got a functional government on Saturday (February 3), two years after its Parliament was paralyzed over new trade rules between the European Union and the United Kingdom necessitated by Brexit. The new first minister, Michelle O’Neill, has created history, as she belongs to Sinn Féin, a political party linked to the paramilitary group Irish Republican Army, which has a long history of fighting the British.

Why was Northern Ireland’s government not working? What has changed now?

Collapse of parliament in 2022:

After the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) left the European Union, Northern Ireland now shared a land border with an EU member, the Republic of Ireland. Since the EU and the UK have different product standards, border checks would be necessary before goods could move from Northern Ireland to Ireland. However, given the history of violence here, it was decided to leave this border alone, and checks were introduced between Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland instead. This was called the Northern Ireland Protocol.

This system angered the unionists, who believed it undermined Northern Ireland’s position with the UK. Thus, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), refused to allow government formation after Northern Ireland went to polls in May 2022, and did not allow Stormont to function.

The new deal:

Various efforts were made to resolve the problem, including the Windsor Framework of February 2023, which introduced a system of green lanes for goods that would stay in Northern Ireland and red lanes (with more checks) for those that would go to the EU. It also brought in the ‘Stormont Brake’, which allowed Northern Ireland lawmakers and London to veto any EU regulation they believed affects the region adversely.

However, for the DUP, these measures were far too little. Now, a new deal has been reached, published as a command paper called ‘Safeguarding the Union’ by the UK government.

Its three main points, as stated on the UK’s Institute for Government, include: The green lane is now called the UK Internal Market channel, on which checks and customs paperwork have been reduced further, to only “risk and intelligence-based checks” relating to “criminality, smuggling and disease”; there’s a “Internal Market Guarantee” which says that at least 80% of Great Britain to Northern Ireland goods will pass through this channel; the UK government will extend a £3.3 billion package to help Northern Ireland’s finances.

Source:  The Indian Express

Link:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/northern-ireland-govt-standoff-explained-9144070/

Photo credit:https://images.app.goo.gl/2qkESGPKTz69Y6bs6

Contributed by:

Sohan Dey

Sohan is a Second Semester student studying Political Science Major at Maynaguri College.