Leaders | Northern Ireland

The quest for a more pragmatic Northern Ireland protocol

Britain and the European Union should seek compromise over Northern Irish trade

SELDOM CAN a mere treaty protocol have caused so much fuss so soon after it was signed. Under Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, Great Britain has left the European Union’s single market and customs union. But to avoid a hard north-south border in Ireland, Northern Ireland has, in effect, remained in both. That necessitates border and customs checks between the province and Great Britain instead.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Protocol problems”

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