Insight and Analysis
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill: context and consequences
October 2022 - The UK government introduced a piece of primary legislation, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, in response to concerns over the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. This report explains some of the context to the Bill, the conditions in which it has emerged and its potential ramifications for Northern Ireland, the UK, the EU, and UK-EU relations. It also considers a number of ways in which the stand-off over the Protocol might be resolved.
Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill threatens human rights protections, report finds
October 2022 - Proposed new legislation to over-ride sections of the Northern Ireland Protocol poses a “significant threat” to human rights protections, a new report has contended.
Professor Christopher McCrudden
The National
Liz Truss may face Lords rebellion over Northern Ireland bill
September 2022 - Liz Truss is facing a potential House of Lords rebellion over proposed legislation to rip up part of the Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland amid concerns that it gives ministers “dictatorial” powers to pen and pass laws without scrutiny.
Professor Katy Hayward
The Guardian
Liz Truss faces race to avoid new Northern Ireland elections
September 2022 - DUP refusing to form devolved government until the Northern Ireland Protocol is removed or replaced.
Professor Katy Hayward
The Telegraph
Northern Ireland Still Doesn’t Have An Executive, What Happens Now?
August 2022 - Three months after Northern Ireland held its seismic Assembly elections in May, which left nationalist Sinn Fein as the largest party for the first time ever, the struggle to install first and deputy ministers and resume power sharing wages on.
Professor Katy Hayward
Politics Home
Northern Ireland Deadlock Deepens as DUP Blocks Speaker Again
August 2022 - Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party blocked the election of a speaker to the regional assembly for a third time, raising the prospects of a further election.
Professor Katy Hayward
BNN Bloomberg
FactCheck: Is the protocol stopping Jewish people in the North from practising their religion?
July 2022 - With the ousting of Boris Johnson from 10 Downing St, questions are being raised about his eventual successor’s attitude to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Professor Katy Hayward
thejournal.ie
Boris Johnson Angers Northern Ireland Businesses He Says He’s Helping
June 2022 - Prime minister argues Brexit deal he signed hurts trade, firms, but companies in region have adapted to rules agreed with EU.
Professor Katy Hayward
Bloomberg
Johnson moves to renege on his own ‘terrible’ Brexit deal – but will the Tories kill it?
June 2022 - British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss unveiled on Monday plans to override some post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland on the grounds that they create unacceptable barriers with the rest of the UK. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was warned about such problems after striking his very own 2019 Brexit deal, which it is now proposing to unilaterally change in a move that critics say undermines Northern Ireland’s economic stability – and analysts say is vulnerable to a Commons rebellion.
Professor Katy Hayward
France 24
Why UK plan to change NI Protocol breaks international law
June 2022 - Analysis: using domestic legislation to breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement goes against a fundamental principle of international law.
Dr Billy Melo Araujo
RTE
Elections in Northern Ireland: Sinn Fein's possible psychological victory
May 2022 - According to various polls, Sinn Fein is leading the voting intentions on 5th May to re-elect the 90 representatives of the local assembly of Northern Ireland. If this choice is confirmed, it would be the first time, since the creation of the assembly in 1998, that a party for reunification with Ireland has become the most important in this proportional election.
Dr Jamie Pow
L'Opinion
63% of people in Northern Ireland think a united Ireland is now more likely because of Brexit
May 2022 - Almost two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland believe that Brexit has increased the likelihood of Irish unity, according to the results of a social attitudes survey.
Professor Katy Hayward & Dr Milena Komarova
ITV
An overview of UK-EU moves on the Protocol from July to October 2021
November 2021 - After the ‘series of unfortunate events’ that had characterised the EU-UK relationship since the start of the year, the summer and autumn of 2021 have seen a pattern of moves to attempt to put the Protocol (or a version of it) on a more sustainable footing.
Professor Katy Hayward & Dr Milena Komarova
QPOL
Proposals and the Protocol: where do the EU proposals leave us?
October 2021 - It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Protocol has been the subject of near blanket coverage this week in Northern Ireland.
Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe
Brexit: EU proposes nixing most Northern Ireland checks
October 2021 - The measures could halve customs paperwork and checks on meat, dairy and other food products coming to Northern Ireland.
Professor David Phinnemore
Deutsche Welle
Britain escalates conflict with European Union over Northern Ireland
October 2021 - David Frost has called for an exchange of conditions with the European Union in Northern Ireland, one of Brexit’s most complex and annoying elements.
Professor Katy Hayward
London News Today
EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič Speech at Queen's University Belfast
September 2021 - Watch EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič's speech during his visit to Queen's University Belfast.
Queen's University Belfast
Q&A session with EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič at Queen's University Belfast
September 2021 - Following EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič's speech during his visit to Queen's University Belfast on 10 September 2021, Vice President Šefčovič engaged in a Q&A with audience members - the linked video recording is of the Q&A session.
Queen's University Belfast
Where's my jumper?
September 2021 - After encountering difficulties ordering clothes online, Queen's University Belfast's Dr Marek Martyniszyn wonders if the protocol is turning Northern Ireland into a cold house?
Dr Marek Martyniszyn
The Irish News
North's voice on the protocol must be heard
September 2021 - Six actions that could improve protocol acceptance among voters in the North.
Professor Katy Hayward & Professor David Phinnemore
The Irish Times
Plan for talks on independent Scotland's border unveiled
August 2021 - PLANS to establish an expert group to examine how the Border with the rest of the UK will work for an independent Scotland will be put forward at the SNP conference.
Professor Katy Hayward
The National
What does Brexit mean for Northern Ireland?
June 2021 - Many issues have had their moment in the Brexit spotlight, but few seem to have been so frequently present since the 2016 referendum than the ‘Northern Ireland’ dimension.
Professor David Phinnemore
The UK in a Changing Europe
Brexit and Beyond podcast with Professor Katy Hayward
July 2021 - In this episode of the Brexit and Beyond podcast, Professor Katy Hayward and Professor Anand Menon, speak to host Jill Rutter, all from UK in a Changing Europe.
Professor Katy Hayward
Brexit and Beyond Podcast - UK in a Changing Europe
Northern Ireland protocol: here’s what a compromise between EU and UK could look like
July 2021 - The EU has announced it will suspend its legal action against the UK for allegedly breaching the Northern Ireland protocol by unilaterally extending grace periods related to trade between Great Britain and the province.
Dr Billy Melo Araujo
The Conversation
Northern Ireland Protocol puts strain on UK-EU relations
July 2021 - Post-Brexit relationship between Britain and the European Union (EU) has become fractious as disagreement continues to stem from the Northern Ireland Protocol and lasting solutions seem to be elusive.
Professor David Phinnemore
China.org
Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and the new command paper
July 2021 - The UK government has presented a new command paper on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland which makes a titular claim to offer ‘the way forward’.
Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe
Expert says Wall of Gretna claim is ‘mischievous exaggeration’ by Tory
July 2021 - A Tory minister’s claim that a “great wall of Gretna” would be built after Scottish independence has been criticised as a “mischievous exaggeration” by a leading expert on borders.
Professor Katy Hayward
The National Scotland
Irish sea border: trust is the biggest problem for the NI protocol
July 2021 - If discomfort could be personified, it might be the figure of Lord David Frost before a committee of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) in Stormont on July 9. Sitting at considerable social distance from him, the assembly politicians took it in turns to present the bone they had to pick with the Brexit minister.
Professor Katy Hayward
The Conversation
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP: parties, polls and promises
July 2021 - On 30 June, the Democratic Unionist Party confirmed Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP as their new leader – the fifth in the party’s 50-year history and the third to hold the post in just three months.
Dr Lisa Whitten
UK in a Changing Europe
Hamming it up: sausage wars, porky pies and party roastings
July 2021 - This blog by Milena Komarova, Katy Hayward and Ben Rosher, is the fourth of a series published for the first 6 months of implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on its impact on borders and cross-border cooperation. The research behind it is funded by the Reconciliation Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs, as part of the Border Catalyst project, led by the Irish Central Border Area Network.
Dr Milena Komarova, Professor Katy Hayward, and Dr Ben Rosher.
Queen's Policy and Engagement blog
Opinion Panel poll survey - What do voters in Northern Ireland think about the Protocol?
June 2021 - As part of a three-year ESRC-funded research project on the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland, a series of regular surveys has been commissioned to ‘temperature test’ voter attitudes on a range of issues relating to Brexit, the Protocol, and their implications for Northern Ireland.
Professor David Phinnemore, Professor Katy Hayward, Dr Lisa Whitten, Dr Billy Melo Araujo
Post-Brexit Governance NI
The precarious position of Northern Ireland
June 2021 - It used to be quite easy to explain the Euroscepticism of unionists and pro-Europeanism of Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland. European integration softens barriers between states, which naturally appeals more to those who want the Irish border gone.
Professor Katy Hayward
The UK in a Changing Europe
The Northern Ireland protocol isn’t perfect – but the UK and EU can make it work
June 2021 - Brexit, by definition, was always going to be disruptive. And the harder the Brexit, the greater the disruption. Leaving a customs union and a single market, even if you subsequently secure a free trade agreement, means the reintroduction of customs formalities, regulatory checks and other non-tariff barriers. And if you agree with the European Union that part of the state will de facto remain in the EU’s customs territory and its internal market for goods, those frictions will be within the UK.
Professor David Phinnemore
The Guardian
Why are British sausages being blocked from entry into Northern Ireland? The dispute explained
June 2021 - In November 2020, Boris Johnson declared that nothing could stop “the Great British sausage from making it to Belfast”. This was in response to reports that the Protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland, the agreement governing the trading relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU, would effectively ban sausages from being imported to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
Dr Billy Melo Araujo
The Conversation UK
Cross-border co-operation on policing, security and criminal justice after Brexit
April 2021 - A new report by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has welcomed the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) crediting it with putting to rest concerns over cross-border security and policing in Northern Ireland arising from post-Brexit changes in security relationships.
Dr Amanda Kramer and Dr Rachael Dickson
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Northern Ireland Voters and the Protocol
April 2021 - Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore look at the results from the first of a series of surveys commissioned by Queen’s University for its ESRC-funded project on the multilevel dynamics of implementing the Protocol.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Queen's Policy Engagement
POLL: What do voters in Northern Ireland think about the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland?
April 2021 - As part of a three-year ESRC-funded research project on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, a series of regular surveys have been commissioned to ‘temperature test’ voter attitudes on a range of issues relating to Brexit, the Protocol, and their implications for Northern Ireland.
Professor David Phinnemore, Professor Katy Hayward, Dr Billy Melo Araujo, Lisa Whitten
Lucid Opinion Panel poll
People across Northern Ireland fear that the protocol will damage political stability
April 2021 - The list of bizarre things Boris Johnson is proposing to do to an international treaty he negotiated is growing. The target of these notions is the Northern Ireland protocol, which parliament ratified as part of the UK-EU withdrawal agreement more than a year ago.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
The Guardian
Crisis of confidence: Government has a lot to do to win back our trust
April 2021 - Brexit continues to divide opinion across Northern Ireland. But what voters have in common is a concern about its effects, particularly when it comes to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland signed off as part of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland Unionists feel they have been betrayed by Boris Johnson
April 2021 - For British political scientist David Phinnemore, loyalists are discovering that contrary to the London promise, there is indeed a border with Great Britain in the Irish Sea.
Professor David Phinnemore
L'Opinion
Post-Brexit Northern Ireland: Living with the Protocol
March 2021 - Part of the Imagine Belfast Festival 2021, this Queen's Policy Engagement 'Post-Brexit Northern Ireland: Living with the Protocol' panel discussion features Professor Katy Hayward, Professor David Phinnemore, Lisa O'Carroll, Naomi O'Leary, and John Campbell. The event took place on Monday 22 March 2021.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Imagine Belfast Festival 2021
Why the Protocol in Ireland and Northern Ireland is a complex political challenge
March 2021 - The protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland proved to be the trickiest element of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement to negotiate. The version that was finally agreed to by both sides sees the EU’s customs code and regulatory rules applying in Northern Ireland.
Professor Katy Hayward
Political Quarterly
Is the Northern Ireland Peace Process at Risk?
March 2021 - Brexit—by its nature—means disruption, and so it has been for Northern Ireland. Brexit has proved divisive politically and heightened political tensions. It has been unsettling and is set to remain so.
Professor David Phinnemore
European Business Review
Brexit: Academics warn against human rights law changes
March 2021 - The UK government announced a review of the Human Rights Act (HRA) in December. Experts at Queen's Human Rights Centre outlined their concerns in a submission to the UK government's consultation.
Professor Christopher McCrudden
BBC Northern Ireland
Brexit: Pressure on Boris Johnson over Northern Ireland border
February 2021 - A “CRITICAL moment” that puts new pressure on the Union and Boris Johnson’s leadership – challenges to the Northern Ireland Protocol have profound implications for the UK, experts say.
Professor Katy Hayward
The National
The EU's bad Friday announcement
February 2021 - The EU-UK vaccine row has repoliticised the Northern Ireland Protocol and damaged the prospects for its smooth implementation.
Professor David Phinnemore
IPS
Irish Sea Border: The Fallout
February 2021 - Northern Ireland has a new post-Brexit trade border in the Irish Sea which unionists want scrapped, but some businesses spot opportunity. Jim Fitzpatrick examines the politics and the economics.
Dr Marek Martyiszyn
BBC Spotlight
COVID and Brexit Have Pushed Northern Ireland Further Away From the UK
February 2021 - Brexit has fundamentally changed the nature of the union, with recent polling suggests that a united Ireland is closer than ever.
Professor John Garry
VICE
Northern Ireland Brexit Roundtable
February 2021 - Northern Ireland has been handed a different set of rules to deal with Brexit compared to the rest of the UK. And already the so-called border in the Irish Sea is causing friction.
Professor David Phinnemore
TRT World
The Politics of the Northern Ireland Protocol
February 2021 - The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) staunchly opposed Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement, fearing the long-term consequences of the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol. The party shows no clear sign of coming to terms with it anytime soon.
Dr Jamie Pow
The UK in a Changing Europe
The Politics of the Northern Ireland Protocol
February 2021 - The co-chairs of the UK-EU Joint Committee, Michael Gove and Maroš Šefčovič, held an emergency meeting last week to ‘find solutions to outstanding issues’ arising from the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Lisa Whitten
The UK in a Changing Europe
Podcast: Brexit Republic - A Double Dose
February 2021 - We missed out on an episode last week, so his week - like the European vaccine rollout - we play catch-up with a double dose.
Professor Katy Hayward
RTÉ Brexit Republic Podcast with Tony Connelly
Can the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol survive?
February 2021 - Just weeks after the UK finally completed its departure from the EU, the topic that dogged more than four years of bitter wrangling over Brexit has reared its head again: the tortured question of the Irish border.
Professor Katy Hayward
FT.com
Brexit is increasing tension in Northern Ireland, but the protocol is the only way
February 2021 - The problems of a border down the Irish Sea were always known – checks and controls have to go somewhere.
Professor David Phinnemore
The Guardian
Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol: Article 16
February 2021 - Article 16 should not be regarded as a mechanism which offers an immediate reversion to the pre-Brexit status quo in response to largely predictable new frictions in goods movement from Britain to Northern Ireland, write Queen’s University Belfast’s Katy Hayward and David Phinnemore.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Agenda NI
Will Northern Ireland leave Britain and head for Irish unification? Exploring after Brexit
January 2021 - Brexit, the UK's departure from the European Union (EU), will be completely terminated at the end of 2020, and Northern Ireland will be treated like a "special zone" in the UK where EU customs rules will apply even after the departure, and customs clearance work will be carried out with Great Britain Island.
Professor David Phinnemore
Mainichi Japan
REPORT - Brexit and Beyond
January 2021 - Brexit is done. The formal negotiations are over — even though the Trade and Cooperation Agreement paves the way to many further negotiations between the UK and the EU. The interminable arguments and parliamentary wrangles over what Brexit might mean in theory are over, but our understanding of what Brexit does mean in practice is just beginning.
Dr Ivanka Antova, Dr Mark Flear, and Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe
Brexit trade problems: what’s gone wrong and can it be fixed?
January 2021 - Queues of lorries at borders and empty supermarket shelves confirm what most already knew: the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has increased trade barriers between the EU and the UK.
Dr Billy Melo Araujo
The Conversation
Why Article 16 is no magic bullet to fix the Irish Sea border
January 2021 - The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, told Westminster yesterday that his Government "will have no hesitation in invoking Article 16" of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol "if there are problems that we believe are disproportionate" in its operation.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland’s Rocky Start to Brexit Stirs Local Tensions
January 2021 - Once Brexit took hold on Jan. 1, problems sprang up. Some British retailers, such as John Lewis Partnership Plc, decided to halt sales to Northern Ireland while the company “works through the new trading arrangement.”
Professor David Phinnemore
Bloomberg
Article 16 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol offers no ‘quick fix’
January 2021 - In this blog, Katy Hayward and David Phinnemore address the latest debate surrounding the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. They suggest that, contrary to some claims being made, unilateral triggering of Article 16 by the UK would not be the easy or the best route for remedying the new realities in the movement of goods across the Irish Sea.
Professor Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
LSE Blog
Bristish businesses are feeling the effects of Brexit
January 2021 - In Northern Ireland, the food trade in particular is struggling with the consequences of Brexit.
Professor Katy Hayward
Berliner Morgenpost
What the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement means for Northern Ireland
January 2021 - Professor Katy Hayward provides an initial analysis of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in light of the Protocol and the 1998 Agreement.
Professor Katy Hayward
Queen's Policy and Engagement
A practical guide to what Brexit means for people in Northern Ireland
January 2021 - Most of the focus on preparing for Brexit has so far centred upon business, as needs be. But just as EU membership was about more than the movement of goods, being outside the EU will have consequences for people as well as for trade.
Professor Katy Hayward
Belfast Telegraph