Updates on the Irish Protocol

Irish Echo, 20 May: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned the British government not to meddle with the Irish Sea Protocol.  British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss seems intent on shredding the agreement Pelosi:  “The Good Friday Accords are the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland and a beacon of hope for the world. If the United Kingdom chooses to undermine the Good Friday Accords, the Congress cannot & will not support a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.K.”

Irish Post 23 May:  Members of the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the Congressional Friends of Ireland are visiting the UK and Ireland to underscore its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.  They will meet with the Taoiseach, Foreign Minister and other political leaders and stakeholders.

Irish Echo 25 May: At the 84th Inter-Parliamentary Meeting of delegations from the U.S. House of Representatives and the European Parliament, the delegations adopted the following official joint statement: “We call upon the government of the United Kingdom to implement fully the Northern Ireland Protocol, which avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, preserves the integrity of the EU Internal Market, and protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts”.

Irish Echo, 27 May:  A joint initiative between Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University, shows rising support for Irish unification, nationalist identification, and for the NI Protocol compared to 2020. 

  • The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is seen as the best basis for governing Northern Ireland.  Only 6 percent expressed absolute opposition to it. 
  • 34% state they would vote for a united Ireland tomorrow. 
  • 48% believe that the long-term policy for Northern Ireland should be to remain part of the UK (down from 54% in 2020).  
  • 63% believe a united Ireland is more likely after Brexit
  • An exclusively Irish (i.e., ‘Irish not British’) identity is now held by the largest proportion of the population (26%  up seven percentage points on 2020), compared to 21% holding an exclusively British (‘British not Irish’) identity (slightly lower than in 2020).  

Irish Echo, 1 June:  Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister designate, called for an Executive to be formed.  She was speaking in the Assembly on Monday during a specially convened sitting. During Monday’s sitting the DUP once again blocked attempts to elect a new Speaker.

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