CONTEXT – United Kingdom and the European Union struck a deal regarding post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, with a view to remove the border between Britain and Northern Ireland running through the Irish Sea

UNDERSTANDING THE GROGRAPHY – Northern Ireland is under UK and different from Republic of Ireland

NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL

• 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, the two Irelands have had a long history of conflict, with a hard-fought peace secured only in 1998 under the Belfast Agreement, also called the Good Friday agreement.
• Fiddling with this border was thus considered too dangerous, and it was decided the checks would be conducted between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• This was called the Northern Ireland Protocol.
• The ‘Windsor Framework’ will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol, which had proved to be among the thorniest of Brexit fall-outs, creating problems both economic and political
• After the UK left the European Union, Northern Ireland remained its only constituent that 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

WHY WAS IT CONTENTIOUS?

• Under the protocol, Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market, and trade-and-customs inspections of goods coming from Great Britain took place at its ports along the Irish Sea.
• The checks made trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland cumbersome, with food products, especially, losing out on shelf life while they waited for clearance.
• Some taxation and spending policies of the UK government could not be implemented in Northern Ireland because of EU rules.
• The sale of medicines, too, was caught between different British and EU rules.

WHAT THE WINDSOR FRAMEWORK PROPOSES?

• The framework has two crucial aspects
  • Introduction of a green lane and red lane system for goods that will stay in Northern Ireland and those that will go to the EU respectively
  • ‘Stormont Brake’, which allows Northern Ireland lawmakers and London to veto any EU regulation they believe affects the region adversely.
• British goods meant for Northern Ireland will use the green lane at the ports, and will be allowed to pass with minimal paperwork and checks. Physical checks will be conducted if the goods are deemed suspicious, in place of the routine checks now
• Goods destined for Ireland or the rest of the EU will have to take the red lane, with the attendant customs and other checks

WHAT IS STORMONT BRAKE

• Means the democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly
• Can oppose new EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives in Northern Ireland
• For this, they will need the support of 30 members from at least two parties. The British government can then veto the law

WILL THE FRAMEWORK RESOLVE ALL OUTSTANDING TRADE ISSUES IN THE AREA?

• While the Windsor arrangement is aimed at protecting Northern Ireland’s position within the U.K., and restoring its people’s sovereignty, it is by no means an established working arrangement yet
• Britain might be incensed at the continuing applicability of some EU customs rules in Northern Ireland
• Objections to the new arrangement might also be centred on the ‘Stormont brake’, an emergency measure that permits Northern Ireland’s devolved government to quickly halt new EU laws from being imposed on the province — a measure that London retains the right to veto
• UK. and the EU will have to pass new legislation to implement some parts of the framework, especially the proposed regulations in areas such as regulation of trade in medicines, and checks on animals and plants
• Ultimately, which EU rules will be accepted in Northern Ireland and which will not, depends on the balance of power between the Unionists and Republicans in the province
• However, the Windsor framework certainly scores points as a pragmatic