LONDON (dpa-AFX) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to find a timely solution to the dispute with Brussels over the special status of Brexit for the British province of Northern Ireland. The Conservative politician told the House of Commons in London on Thursday that he had had a very constructive exchange with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and with European heads of government. The people of Northern Ireland deserve to see institutions in that part of the country working again, Sunak said.
The dispute over the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is currently paralyzing the formation of a government in the British part of the country. The protocol is part of the Brexit treaty concluded at the end of 2019 and aims to ensure that, despite the British exit from the EU between Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland, no border checks will be necessary . This was to prevent a section of the predominantly Catholic supporters of a union with Ireland from taking up arms again. Instead, however, a goods border emerged between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, which was opposed by many of the mostly Protestant supporters of union with Great Britain.
Armed groups on both sides had fought a decades-long battle that cost the lives of thousands of people. The conflict only ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. It provides that the regional government is always formed by the two major parties of both denominations. The Protestant unionist party DUP wants the Northern Ireland protocol repealed. He therefore refuses to join a government.
