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The 1998 Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement), which brought to an end three decades of inter-communal violence, also heralded the advent of 23 years of increased cross-border trade and cooperation as well as an increase in Irish exports to the UK.  That ease of access and trade was facilitated by the…

The Good Friday Agreement

The Troubles, which began in 1968 and lasted until the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998, left more than 3,700 people dead. The GFA introduced a new power-sharing N Ireland Government structure; decommissioned paramilitary weapons; established a number of joint committees between the UK, N and S Ireland to oversee the implementation of the GFA and address any possible tensions between the N and S Ireland or between communities in the North; created the ‘all-Ireland economy’; and protected the Common Travel Area.  But perhaps the most totemic and visible sign of the GFA’s success was the removal of the physical border infrastructure between N and S Ireland.…
Continue Reading The UK, EU and the Northern Ireland Protocol

With the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed and Brexit now becoming an increasingly settled fact, the areas of potential divergence between the UK and the EU are becoming clearer.  The strategy appears to be to identify those areas in which the UK already enjoys a competitive edge over its rivals and then work out…

The Troubles, which began in 1968 and lasted until the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998, left more than 3,500 people dead. The GFA brought in a new power-sharing structure for government of N Ireland, required the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and established a number of joint committees between the UK, N and S Ireland…

During the Cameron-Clegg Coalition government between 2010 and 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, led determined efforts to create a UK-China ‘Golden Era’ of diplomatic and economic relations. This culminated in the full State Visit of the Chinese Premier to the UK in 2015.

Vote Leave viewed a closer trading relationship with China…

As the Brexit Deal settles down and the UK becomes used to being a Third Country in relation to the EU, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the damage that Brexit may have done to the United Kingdom. This is particularly evident in N Ireland and Scotland – both of which voted…

With the Covid news from the UK (good – vaccine rollout; and bad – high cases and deaths), the impact of the Brexit Deal has been somewhat masked. This note summarises some of the most noticeable of those impacts.

Red Tape & Border Delays

Cross-Channel trade was slower than normal in the first two weeks…

The deadline has already passed for any UK-EU Agreement to be reached in time for translation and consideration by the European Parliament before the end of the Parliamentary term on 16th of December.  In a gesture of conciliation, the parliament has indicated it may be prepared to convene on 28 December.

However, as the pressure…