Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, and former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, have reportedly been working together in the negotiations to solve some of the problems associated with Brexit.
Last week Conor Burns, who until recently was Northern Ireland’s Minister, thanked both figures for their help in attempting to get Britain and the EU to return to the negotiating table regarding the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.
“I want to place on record, Mr. Speaker, in the house today, my thanks to the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the former Prime Minister Tony Blair for their assistance in the work that I have done over the summer,” he said in the House of Commons last Wednesday.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/07/tony-blair-bertie-ahern-thanked-for-help-in-uk-eu-brexit-deadlock
Both figures are eager to preserve the Good Friday Agreement, which they both had a hand in negotiating, as the historic peace deal will see its 25th anniversary next year.
The Stormont government collapsed earlier this year after the DUP withdrew its support from the power-sharing agreements. Unionists fear that the Protocol, which will see special trading rules between the EU and UK, threatens the stability of their union with Great Britain.
After Brexit, both Britain and the EU (including Ireland) are separate jurisdictions regarding international trade. This means that any goods going in and out of UK and EU ports have to be checked to ensure they comply with local laws and regulations – for example, certain types of foods.
However, if these customs checks are put on the border between the Republic of Ireland and the six counties of Northern Ireland, it is feared that it will jeopardise the relative peace won by the Good Friday Agreement, as nationalist communities in the North will see it as part of the island being “cut off.”
Last year, the EU decided to impose a vaccine customs border on the island of Ireland without consulting parties involved, leading to widespread backlash. The idea was quickly dropped.
Many folks dismissed my "border by accident" concerns when I was Special Envoy to Northern Ireland. Well, that almost happened this week, as an unintended consequence of the EU vaccine export rules. Good work by all to reverse them.https://t.co/ROnWcJP04U
— Mick Mulvaney (@MickMulvaney) January 30, 2021
After four years of lecturing Britain that it could never countenance anything that might lead to a hard border in Ireland, the European Union, in a desperate response to its own vaccine incompetence, introduces a hard border. Then thinks better of it.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) January 30, 2021
As a result, the Northern Ireland Protocol would see trade goods checked at Northern Ireland ports instead – effectively treating Northern Ireland as a part of the Republic and the EU for trade purposes. Northern Ireland is also to continue following EU rules on product standards.
This has led to further tension, with Unionists believing that this separate treatment of their region will drive a wedge between themselves and Great Britain, and make a 32-county United Ireland more realistic.
As a result, Conor Burns told the House of Commons he had met European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, at the weekend, where both had “constructive and prolonged talks.”
“I am convinced that if the appetite exists, we can find a way to a negotiated solution to the Northern Ireland protocol,” he said to MPs.