Per edited: Bi Luming
According to CCTV News on the 11th, in response to the British government's intention to tear up the "Northern Ireland Protocol", European Commission Vice President Sevkovic issued a statement saying that he would not abandon the "Northern Ireland Protocol". On May 10, local time, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Development, Traus, asked officials to prepare draft legislation to repeal key parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Earlier, British Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Justice Dominique Raab said in an interview with the media that the results of the Northern Ireland local council elections showed that the revision of the "Northern Ireland Protocol" could not be postponed.
It is reported that in the just-concluded local parliamentary elections, sinn Fein, a nationalist party advocating "Brexit", won 27 of all 90 seats, making it the largest party in the Northern Ireland Parliament for the first time in history. According to the final results of the election, Sinn Féin Vice-Chairman Michel O'Neill will be eligible to serve as Northern Ireland's Chief Minister, and the Democratic Unionist Party, which won the second most seats in this election, will form a coalition government with Sinn Féin. However, until the evening of the 10th local time, Donaldson, the leader of the Democratic Unity Party, still refused to serve as the deputy minister of the new government. At present, there are less than two days before the new parliament of Northern Ireland on the 13th, and the coalition government is still unable to open, which makes the Northern Irish political scene, which has just ushered in a "historic process", full of variables.
On May 6, 2022 local time, In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin Northern Leader Michelle O'Neill arrived at the counting center. Image source: Visual China
"Brexit" has laid hidden dangers for Northern Ireland's "independence"
According to CCTV News reported on the 11th, according to the law, the Northern Ireland Parliament governs in the form of power-sharing between various parties. Sinn Fein advocated the separation of Northern Ireland from Britain to form a "United Ireland", while the Democratic Unionist Party, the fourth largest party in the British House of Commons, has maintained a pro-British stance. The result of this election means that the "Brexiteer" Sinn Fein party will jointly govern with the "pro-British" Democratic Unity Party, and the two parties' governing philosophy is in opposite directions. At present, Donaldson, the leader of the democratic unionist party who lost the election, is trying to win over the centrist faction and push for the revision of the Northern Ireland Protocol, and uses this as a threat to say that the Democratic Unionist Party will not nominate any new ministers to form a coalition government with Sinn Fein until the negotiations on the agreement are made. Sinn Féin chairman Mary Lou Macdonald made it clear that "preparations for a referendum to unify Ireland now" were given, while giving a "five-year framework period". This makes "breaking away from Britain and entering love" from the original castle in the air into a political possibility. It should be said that Britain's "Brexit" has laid hidden dangers for Northern Ireland's "independence", and the "Northern Ireland Protocol" has completely intensified the contradictions caused by "ruling by drawing the sea".
On May 5, British Prime Minister and Conservative Leader Boris Johnson traveled to a polling station in London to prepare for the vote. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
Britain's "Brexit" was originally a bitter drink that pro-Irish nationalists had to swallow. As a crucial part of the Uk's "Brexit" agreement, the "Northern Ireland Protocol" was originally intended to solve the follow-up trade arrangement between the UK and the EU, but the artificial sea border has led to cumbersome and complicated trade procedures between Northern Ireland and the British mainland island of Great Britain. This has directly led to some pro-British support for Brexit people, but instead have been pushed to the opposite camp, instead supporting staying in the EU.
Robert McNamara, a professor of history at the University of Belfast and Auster in the United Kingdom, pointed out in an exclusive interview with reporters: "This [election result] is closely related to the Decision to Leave the United Kingdom, and I think it has at least divided a considerable part of the voting group." There are two sides to this, one is that Brexit has upset some people, and the other is that Brexit has led to a maritime border between Northern Ireland and the British main island, including some pro-British people believe that this has seriously damaged the connection between the British main island and Northern Ireland. ”
Sinn Fein has not won much favor in the past because of its inextricable ties to the IRA that carried out terrorist attacks. After the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998, Sinn Fein began to focus on the "vegetable basket" issues such as the economy and people's livelihood, deliberately avoiding sensitive issues such as "unified Ireland", thus gradually attracting voters who held a middle position. In this local council election, the ruling Democratic Unionist Party lost some seats due to popular disappointment, and Sinn Fein stood out and stepped onto the stage of history.
Senior EU official: Northern Ireland Protocol will not be abandoned
According to CCTV News reported on the 11th, on the 10th local time, European Commission Vice President Sevkovic issued a statement on the British government's intention to tear up the "Northern Ireland Protocol", saying that the "Northern Ireland Protocol" is the cornerstone of the Brexit agreement and a binding international agreement, which cannot be renegotiated, and eu countries are consistent in this position. The EU side was willing to seek a solution with the British side within the framework of the protocol regarding the absence of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, but the British side also needed to show determination and creativity.
The core of the Northern Ireland Protocol is that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland after Brexit, but after last week's local elections in Northern Ireland, the issue became acute and may even hinder the composition of local government in Northern Ireland.
However, according to the British "Guardian" local time on May 10 news, the British Foreign Development Secretary Traus has asked officials to prepare a draft legislation, which is intended to unilaterally repeal a key part of the "Northern Ireland Protocol", that is, to cancel the inspection of goods between the British isle of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. According to government insiders, Terrass plans to take the above actions unilaterally, but the British government is not ready to abandon negotiations with the EU. Analysts believe that the result of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party in the local elections in Northern Ireland last weekend forced Britain to wait until the end of the UK-EU negotiations to make plans.
Pedestrians walk past a branch of an Irish bank in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
At the same time, on May 8, local time, British Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Justice Dominique Raab said in an interview with the media that the results of the Northern Ireland local council election showed that the revision of the "Northern Ireland Protocol" cannot be postponed, and the protocol issue is endangering the stability of the Northern Ireland region.
According to the Economic and Commercial Section of the Embassy in Ireland, the Irish Daily, The Independent and National Radio (RTE) reported on April 23 that British Prime Minister Johnson said during his visit to New Delhi that the Uk was prepared to take measures to "repair" the Northern Ireland Protocol if necessary.
It is reported that the "Northern Ireland Protocol" is part of the UK's "Brexit" agreement, which aims to resolve the trade arrangements between the UK and the EU after the "Brexit". Under the UK's "Brexit" agreement, the Northern Ireland region remains within the European Single Market and the EU customs union to prevent the emergence of a land "hard border" on the island of Ireland. However, this arrangement led to the establishment of a checkpoint between the Northern Ireland region and the British isle of Great Britain, which exacerbated the contradictions between the pro-British and independent factions in the Northern Ireland region. Since 2021, both the UK and the EU have acknowledged that there are problems with the implementation of the Protocol. After entering 2022, the two sides agreed to strengthen negotiations on this issue.
Daily Economic News Comprehensive CCTV News, Economic and Commercial Division of the Embassy in Ireland
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