Synopsis of the Contents
The Protocol begins with a lengthy preamble dealing with the context which has led to it. The vital points are:
- The GFA must be protected “in all its parts”
- The commitment of the UK to protect North-South cooperation and the guarantee to avoid a hard border are “overarching requirements” and any future arrangements must be compatible with them
- The Protocol will be without prejudice to the “rights, opportunities and identity that come with citizenship of the Union for the people of Northern Ireland who choose to assert their right to Irish citizenship”
- The Protocol is based only on the “third scenario” of maintaining the “full alignment” with those Union rules which support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the 1998 Agreement (the assumption seems to be made that this commitment to alignment applies only to Northern Ireland not the UK as a whole)
- A main purpose of the Protocol is to create a “common regulatory area” of the island of Ireland
- If a broad agreement is made satisfying the “overarching requirements” the Protocol can be dispensed with…
See the full comments paper HERE