The British government has announced that it is seeking to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol governing trade between the UK territory and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union, to facilitate the flow of goods from the UK to Northern Ireland, and the protocol is part of the Brexit deal signed with the European Union in 2019, according to which the UK left the European Union.

“The proposed amendments are included in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which Parliament will discuss and vote on in the coming days,” the statement said.

The proposed amendments would remove “unnecessary” documents required when checking British goods entering Northern Ireland from the UK, in addition to the fact that companies in the region enjoy the same tax benefits as companies in the rest of the UK. The amendments also include the consideration of commercial disputes by “independent arbitration”, an alternative to the European Court of Justice.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement that the proposed amendments “represent a reasonable and workable solution to the problems facing Northern Ireland”, adding that the UK “can only make progress through negotiations with the European Union if the Union is satisfied change.” protocol itself, and currently does not want to do so,” and stressed that “the changes that the government intends to make to the protocol are in accordance with the law.”

The British government is looking forward to amending Article 16 of the same protocol, which states that either party to the agreement is allowed to take action if the implementation of the agreement results in economic, social or environmental hardship that disrupts trade.

The British government says the protocol, as it stands, represents an obstacle to the formation of a government in Northern Ireland after recent elections in the region.

For his part, Vice-President of the European Commission Maros Sefkovic stressed that “a revision of the protocol is unrealistic and that the unilateral measures taken by the British government undermine mutual confidence”, and stressed that “the current protocol is the only solution to protect peace in Northern Ireland”. He added: “The European Union is deeply concerned by the UK’s decision today to introduce legislation to suspend key elements of the protocol,” adding that “the European Commission will evaluate the draft UK legislation.”

The Northern Ireland Protocol, signed between the UK and the European Union after Brexit, provides for special arrangements for the territory that obliges it to follow the rules of the European Single Market, so that a firm border between the territory and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union, is avoided to facilitate free trade between the two parts of Ireland, and the absence of barriers could renew conflict between unionist parties that want to remain part of the UK and other parties such as Shinn. Fane is seeking to secede from Britain and join the Republic of Ireland.

Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland have criticized the protocol since it came into force in 2021 because it “created too many checkpoints and red tape for British goods entering Northern Ireland”, which makes the DUP, which came in second in the number of seats in elections to the Assembly, objects. The last legislature in the region, while the nationalist parties seeking separation from the UK, led by Sinn Féin, accept the protocol with all its conditions.

The DUP refuses to help create an executive administration in the province before changing protocol to remove trade checks between Northern Ireland and the UK mainland that it believes threaten the province’s status within the United Kingdom.

The UK signed a free trade agreement with the European Union at the end of 2020, after it formally left the European Union following a 2016 referendum in which the British voted to leave the European Union.