The Northern Ireland border issue interferes Brexit once again

Abstract

The article considers the activities of the conservative governments of T. May and B. Johnson to solve the Northern Irish border issue against the background of Brexit. After the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum in 2016, it remained unclear how to agree on the modalities for the Belfast Agreement 1998, according to which the border in Northern Ireland should remain open, and the EU customs regulations. Any, even formal, border control will significantly reduce the flow of people, goods and capital, and also negatively affect the everyday life of people in the region. In this case, the socio-economic instability in Northern Ireland will increase and lead to a revival of the religious and political conflict between the Catholic and Protestant communities, as it had already been there in the 20th century. During the lengthy negotiations between London and Brussels, several ways were developed to solve this problem, which, however, could not fully satisfy the House of Commons or the leading regional parties of Northern Ireland. The victory of the Conservatives in the UK general election 2019 could change the balance of power in parliament and lead to a revision of the status of Northern Ireland.

Keywords

• the uk
• the eu
• the irish border
• the conservative party
• dup
• sinn fein