The U.K. government once again threatens to overstep the protocols of the Brexit deal, which was agreed upon and given permission by the European Union. With the culmination of these circumstances, the possibility of a trade war getting triggered is exhibited amid the power-sharing crisis in Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister of the U.K, Boris Johnson, is likely to make a hasty visit to Belfast, to escalate the mounting tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol. The Northern Ireland protocols are a part of the post-Brexit trading agreement, which accounts for checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the U.K.
Boris Johnson's immediate visit comes after the halting of the election of Stormont Assembly speaker by the largest Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. Due to this blocking of elections, the formation of a new executive in the province is halted. In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party, which came second after Sinn Fein in the elections held on May 5, has refused to re-enter the executive until the protocols of the deal are revised and rewritten. Last January, the deal was implemented to decrease the hard border tensions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Democratic Unionist Party is demanding and compelling the U.K lawmakers to rewrite the present protocols or abolish them completely, claiming that the creation of a Custom border across the Irish sea undermines the place of Northern Ireland within the U.K.
The DUP says U.K. lawmakers must abolish the protocol, arguing that a customs border has been created across the Irish Sea, and this undermines Northern Ireland's place within the U.K. Sinn Fein, the nationalist party which secured a clean sweep of the majority of votes, accepts the protocols of the deal and has the right to nominate the executive's first Minister. Despite securing a clear majority, the new government cannot be formed without Democratic Unionist Party, according to the agreement introduced in the 1990s.
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