Brexit dispute – deadline for Northern Ireland government extended by one year

Minister for Northern Ireland Heaton-Harris announced that the deadline for forming a government would be extended to January next year. Actually, this had already expired last month – more than half a year after the election, which is why a new election would be due.

Under the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement, the majority Protestant Unionists, who favor Northern Ireland’s belonging to the UK, and the mostly Catholic Republicans, who would rather belong to Ireland instead, must form a joint government. The two sides are at odds over the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed with the EU, which is intended to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open.

This message was broadcast on 02/09/2023 on Deutschlandfunk.