Northern Ireland’s Stormont Assembly has voted in favour of retaining the special trade arrangements for Brexit for another four years.
This means Northern Ireland will retain some EU trade laws as a means of maintaining an invisible border on the island of Ireland, despite continued opposition in some unionist circles.
The 42 to 35 vote reflected long-standing divisions over Brexit, with Unionist Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) voting against it, while Nationalists and the non-sectarian Alliance Party supported it.
The decision came after hours of debate, which Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) MLA Sinéad McLaughlin as “triggering,” with Brexit points reiterated from the Unionist benches.
Consideration was given to the continued application of Articles 5-10 of the Windsor Framework, which deal with customs, movement of goods, VAT and excise duty, the single electricity market and state aid.
Emma Little-Pengelly, Deputy First Minister, said the DUP would “continue to fight for the full restoration of Northern Ireland’s place within the UK,” including the removal of the application of EU law and any barriers it creates to the UK’s internal market. “We must strive for something better,” she told the meeting.
Naomi Long, the Alliance Party’s justice minister, said it would not help anyone if Brexit was a “permanent open wound” and she would vote to keep the arrangements in place so the North could “move forward.”
Matthew O’Toole, SDLP leader at Stormont, said the protocol was flawed but urged party members to look forward. “There needs to be a concerted effort to improve the situation,” he added.
That prompted Steve Aiken of the Ulster Unionist Party to say the “strongest message” to Brussels and London was to unite behind a vote against the continuation of the Windsor framework.
“Illusion of democracy”
Tuesday’s vote was the first test for the compromise deal struck by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February 2023.
Jonathan Buckley of the DUP called the vote an “illusion of democracy” as London will have the final say on which laws will prevail under trade agreements.
The framework was introduced after long opposition from the DUP and other parties over checks on farm-fresh products, from sausages to cheese, imported into the region from the rest of the UK.
Under the Windsor Framework, goods from Britain destined for storage in Northern Ireland pass through a “green lane,” while a separate “red lane” is provided for goods destined to cross the border into the Republic and therefore the EU.
Import bans on seed potatoes and 11 native British trees have also been lifted, as well as EU rules on the movement of pets from Northern Ireland to the UK.
