At this year’s British-Irish Council summit, the United Kingdom and Ireland recently discussed reforms to the Northern Ireland Protocol. The protocol allows goods to be moved across the Irish-UK border without customs checks. It is intended to preserve the Good Friday Agreement by preventing a border from forming between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

One of the major problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol are the customs checks. The customs checks are conducted in Northern Irish ports instead of at the Irish-UK border. These customs checks have slowed transportation of goods into Northern Ireland, causing shortages of goods, including medications and chilled meats. The protocol has also angered Unionists in Northern Ireland, who believe that the protocol places a border between it and the rest of the UK. 1 After the 2022 elections, the Democratic Unionists Party refused to enter a power-sharing agreement with Sinn Fein until these issues are resolved.

A successful revision of the Northern Ireland Protocol is not guaranteed. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Conservative Party MPs support the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would allow goods to enter Northern Ireland without customs checks. it is not guaranteed that the Democratic Unionist Party would agree to enter a power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein. 2

Still, the UK and Ireland are hopeful however that progress can be made. Minister Rishi Sunak is open to finding a solution. He would like to achieve an agreement that lessens paperwork and checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland. 3 Sunak also attended the summit, the first Prime Minister to do so in 15 years. 4 Likewise, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney Simon believes that reforms can be completed by Christmas to have a power-sharing agreement between the DUP and Sinn Fein. 5 Furthermore, outside of the British-Irish Council summit, the European Union began testing the UK’s database on goods cominginto Northern Ireland. 6

1 Tom Edgington, “What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?,” BBC News, October 27, 2022, accessed November 16, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-53724381

2 Shawn Pogatchnik, “Ireland: UK-EU deal on fixing Brexit trade protocol ‘doable’ by Christmas,” Politico, November 8, 2022, accessed November 11https://www.politico.eu/article/ireland-uk-eu-deal-brexit-trade-protocol-christmas-simon-coveney/

3 Shawn Pogatchnik, “Sunak seek negotiated solution to Brexit trade row in first talks with Ireland,” Politico, November 10 2022, accessed November 11 https://www.politico.eu/article/rishi-sunak-brexit-trade-tensions-ireland-talks-protocol/

4 Sandford, “Summit”

5 Pogatchnik, “Doable,”

6 Ibid.,