London [UK], March 1: Leading politicians in Northern Ireland's parliament called on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to make decision over a trade agreement to restore the government, known as Stormont, as Britain's prime minister visited the country.
His visit came a day after he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on a deal on the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol after months of intense technical talks. The protocol, part of Britain's agreement with the European Union to leave the bloc in 2020, created a de facto trade border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish sea. This was to prevent the need for border controls between Northern Ireland and EU member Republic of Ireland that risked a resurgence of sectarian tensions but meant that Northern Ireland was still part of the bloc's custom-free trading area post-Brexit.
The trade dispute became a major hurdle in the implementation of the Brexit agreement with pro-British Unionists in Northern Ireland, who felt it cut them off from the rest of the United Kingdom and tied the region to the EU's jurisdiction.
In Northern Ireland, the main pro-British Protestant party, the DUP had wanted the trade border removed and had refused to restore a power-sharing agreement with Irish republican Sinn Fein, the main Catholic party.
Source: Qatar Tribune