BREXIT AND THE BACKSTOP SOLUTION ON NORTHERN IRELAND
BREXIT AND THE BACKSTOP SOLUTION ON NORTHERN IRELAND

Summary/Abstract: On 29 March 2017, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom formally triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, notifying the President of the European Council of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. During the following two years, the European Union and the UK carried out negotiations regarding a withdrawal agreement, with one of the most complicated issues being that of the Irish border. If Northern Ireland were no longer part of the EU, a hard border would have to be reinstated on the island of Ireland. Such a border could, however, jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement, which plays an essential part in the cooperation and reconciliation of the two countries. Consequently, the EU and the UK have created the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, including a backstop solution on Northern Ireland that ensure the absence of a hard border on the Irish island.

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