What Next In The Saga Of The Northern Ireland Protocol?

Suggestions that some sort of breakthrough agreement between the UK and EU on Northern Ireland is imminent have been dismissed by Downing Street. Early next week is the latest rumour on timing, but even then it may not suit Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politicians who are still boycotting the power-sharing executive in Stormont because of it. Whether this latest iteration of the 800-year-old "Irish Question" will ever be solved remains to be seen.

- Sean O'grady

What is the Northern Ireland protocol?

It is part of the UK-EU withdrawal agreement which is enshrined in the Brexit treaty, or EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; it can't be changed or renegotiated without the consent of both sides, though it can be rescinded.

It is a cause of constant grief to many Unionists, especially the DUP and hardline loyalists in Northern Ireland because it means that sending goods from say Bradford to Belfast is now procedurally different to sending them from Bradford to Bristol. In many cases, customs declarations must be filled in and some Northern Ireland businesses find the disruption to supplies from the rest of the UK irksome and costly. Consumers in Northern Ireland complain that once-familiar items are no longer on supermarket shelves.

On a more purely political level the DUP says the protocol leaves a democratic deficit, with laws made in Brussels imposed on them and the authority of a foreign judiciary, the European Court, would remain in the province even after being removed for the rest of the UK.

On the other hand, nationalists and republicans and the nonaligned Alliance Party are less concerned about the drawbacks, and like the fact that, for some other businesses, the protocol endows them with friction-free access to the Irish and wider EU market as well as barrier-free exports to the rest of the UK, the best of both worlds. They, and the Ulster Unionists, want devolved government back - even with the protocol still in dispute.

The protocol is a compromise that avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, which would break at least the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and threaten a return to the Troubles. As with all compromises, it means sacrifices and concessions on all sides.

What is the root of the problem?