Paul Givan, prime minister of Northern Ireland, has resigned, opening yet another political clash in a Great Britain already grappling with the controversy over the parties held in Downing Street and the future of the Premier, Boris Johnson. At the basis of the decision there is once again Brexit. According to Givan, in fact, the rules on divorce signed by the EU and the UK are doing a lot of damage to Northern Ireland, which for years has been at the center of the negotiations between the two sides and whose position has slowed down the negotiations, leading them several times beyond the breaking point.
The Protocol on Northern Ireland
Based on the Northern Ireland Protocol, a cornerstone of the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland remained within the single market and customs union while being governed by Great Britain. The purpose of the decision is to avert border controls between Belfast and Dublinwhich is part of the EU. The problem is that, by virtue of this choice, checks and paperwork are carried out on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, de facto removing it from the internal market.
According to the Dup, the unionist party to which Givan belongs, the Protocol “represents a existential threat for the Union and for the future of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom” as it would be a sort of border in the Irish Sea”. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Dup, spoke of “economic madness”, explaining that “in the 217 days I have been at the head of this party the Protocol has cost our economy £535million”.
Belfast heading towards early elections?
Northern Ireland is therefore moving towards early elections, with “big disappointment” of the Government in London, currently engaged in talks with the European Union to find a possible compromise on the Irish question. Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis has called on unionists to "immediately reinstate the Prime Minister". Previously, the Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson had defined it as "crazy" to have controls on goods that substantially circulate within the Kingdom and specified that it is up to the negotiators to fix the problem, making "common sense" prevail.
