Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland
Both the United Kingdom and the European Union have acknowledged the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland. They have recognised the necessity of safeguarding the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and protecting North–South cooperation.
This solution was found in the form of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, which:
- avoids a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, thereby enabling the smooth functioning of the all-island economy and safeguarding the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions;
- ensures the integrity of the EU’s Single Market for goods, along with all the guarantees it offers in terms of consumer protection, public and animal health protection, and combating fraud and trafficking.
As a result of the protocol, Northern Ireland has in effect remained in the EU’s single market for goods. This allows goods to flow between Northern Ireland and Ireland and the rest of the EU as they did while the United Kingdom was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork.
The EU’s rules on customs and regulation of agri-food products will continue to apply to goods arriving in Northern Ireland.
Its substantive provisions started to apply on 1 January 2021.
This collection is intended for informational purposes only. Its content is updated regularly, and it should be read in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland and its annexes, in particular the notes/comments that define the application of certain legal acts for the purposes of the protocol
Below, you will find:
Key documents
Summaries of EU legislation
- Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code
- Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down Community procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a European Medicines Agency (Text with EEA relevance)
- Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use
- Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety
- Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed (Text with EEA relevance)
- Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation)Text with EEA relevance.
- Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty Text with EEA relevance
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid Text with EEA relevance