Discussions on Brexit part two: progress on Northern Ireland

Yesterday the EU-UK Joint Committee reached an agreement on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, meaning we can continue to deliver on what everyone wants, the commitment to maintain peace, stability and prosperity on the island of Ireland.

  • Britain's top priority in implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol has always been to protect the Northern Ireland peace process and uphold the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. 
     
  • The Joint Committee responsible for implementing the Withdrawal Agreement has now reached an agreement in principle on the implementation of the Protocol in all areas – including on tariffs and export declarations  – and in view of this, the UK government will remove the related clauses from the UK Internal Market Bill and not introduce any similar provisions in the Taxation Bill.   
     
  • This agreement means that the Conservative government can deliver on our manifesto promise to protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s customs territory, guaranteeing unfettered access for businesses to the rest of the UK.
  • It also means that proposed measures which a lot of people were very uncomfortable with because they were seen as breaking international law, are off the table. 

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