The European Union is to announce significant changes to the way the Northern Ireland protocol is implemented.
It is expected that the changes will result in a significant reduction in the number of checks and controls on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
What is the Northern Ireland protocol?
During Brexit negotiations, it was agreed that it was imperative to avoid a land border on the island of Ireland. The Northern Ireland protocol was established to prevent checks along the Irish border.
The protocol meant that the UK was asked to conduct internal checks (between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain) to show compliance with EU law. Under the Brexit divorce deal, Northern Ireland will continue to follow the EU in areas including customs, product standards and agriculture. This effectively kept Northern Ireland in the single market.
After Brexit, Northern Ireland was given a grace period for certain products - including supermarket supplies and parcel deliveries from Great Britain - to allow suppliers to adapt. This grace period has been extended more than once as many in the UK are unhappy with the protocol.
Unhappy with the Northern Ireland protocol
The implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol caused disruptions in trade and reduced choice for consumers. Because the EU has a ban on prepared meats such as sausages entering the single market, those products would be blocked from Northern Ireland under the deal, this led to the dispute over the protocol to become known as ‘the sausage wars’.
In July, the UK government proposed changes to the Northern Ireland protocol. Although the UK wanted “significant changes”, the European Commission said that they would only negotiate within the terms of the protocol.
The biggest issues with the Northern Ireland protocol are sanitary and phytosanitary checks on food and plants, access to medicines from Britain and the European Court of Justice's oversight role.
Sanitary and phytosanitary checks
Sanitary and phytosanitary checks are EU measures to protect human, plant and animal health.
Brussels has offered a system whereby the UK follows the EU rules on this on a temporary basis, however this was rejected by Britain.
It is now expected that the EU will make new proposals that will open up the option of creating a list of products (so called ‘identity foods') such as sausages and garden plants that would have relaxed rules around their import.
There is also a suggestion of a Northern Ireland-only labelling system. This would ensure that meat, dairy and plants cannot be easily sold on to other areas of the single market. A trusted trader system will also be put in place so that goods do not have to be recertified when crossing the Irish Sea.
Medicines have also been a big issue for the Northern Ireland protocol. The European Commission is expected to publish a paper which will make it clear that medicines produced in mainland Britain will be available in Northern Ireland.
RTÉ is reporting that this will include generic medicines, new cancer drugs and innovative life-saving medicines, as well as any drugs which have been authorised for circulation in either the EU or the UK.
The European Court of Justice
The UK government has said it wants to remove the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from its oversight role as part of the Northern Ireland protocol.
As it stands now, if there was a dispute around compliance with applicable EU law, the EU could take the UK to the ECJ. The court would rule on whether the UK was in breach of its obligations under the terms of the protocol.
In any case brought before the ECJ, the UK would operate in proceedings as if it were an EU member state.
Because the ECJ decides on cases in the single market, and under the Northern Ireland protocol, the statelet remains within the single market, the court has the authority to make judgements on UK compliance.
The protocol agreement also states that the ECJ has jurisdiction to rule on matters of EU law in Northern Ireland.
While oversight on the Northern Ireland protocol is needed, the UK doesn’t want to be treated like an EU member state. Businesses in Northern Ireland have called this dispute a “Brexit purity issue”.
The Northern Ireland protocol remains in place for now
In spite of its many opponents, the Northern Ireland protocol remains in place. The proposals set out by the EU remain within the parameters of the protocol and they have told the UK that if they want to make changes, it must be within those parameters.
However UK Brexit minister David Frost has threatened more than once to suspend the Northern Irish protocol. He has also previously said that he will make the removal of the ECJ's role in Northern Ireland a red-line issue.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to the Northern Ireland protocol as part of his Brexit agreement. However, he now argues that it has come down to “fixing it or ditching it.”
Frost has said that the EU is using Northern Ireland to try to reverse the Brexit referendum.
“The Northern Ireland protocol is the biggest source of mistrust between us and for all kinds of reasons we need to fix this problem,” Frost said.