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Politico (12 November 2021)

BY CRISTINA GALLARDO

Britain has long been unhappy with post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland. The EU has long been unhappy the Brits signed up to a deal they now want to change. So what gives? 

The so-called Northern Ireland protocol, agreed as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in 2019, sets out how trade works in the region following the U.K.’s exit from the EU. The protocol was drawn up to protect the EU’s single market post-Brexit while avoiding a politically sensitive hard border between Northern Ireland, part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member country. 

The agreement includes a nuclear option — either side can unilaterally suspend it if they can show it isn’t working. The British government is now threatening to pull the trigger. But will they? And what happens if they do?

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