Some hope, and others fear, that the Northern Ireland protocol will strengthen the all-island economy and speed political reunification. The reality is more complicated—and more fraught
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskBefore the Brexit referendum, support was strong in Northern Ireland for the status quo. But the administration in Stormont created by the Good Friday deal failed to provide good government. It has collapsed repeatedly as one side or the other withdraws in a huff, leaving Northern Ireland to be governed from Westminster or administered by local civil servants.
forswore terrorism, its political wing, Sinn Fein, has pursued a two-pronged strategy: press for referendums on reunification on both sides of the border and in the meantime harmonise policy as much as possible, in order to make unity look less daunting.EU Some economic activity has rerouted through Northern Ireland, as hauliers have shifted their operations to avoid the even tougher trade border between the Republic and Great Britain. Indeed, Northern Ireland’s unique position, with privileged access to both theand British markets, has fuelled talk of Brexit opportunities. Almac, a pharmaceutical company, boasts of the “Almac Advantage” for just that reason.
Although a long-standing arrangement between Ireland and Britain means citizens of either can live and work freely in the other, Brexit means that professional qualifications are no longer automatically recognised. And some positions in Ireland face stricter residency rules.
According to Northern Ireland’s statistical agency, two percentage points of Northern Ireland’s 3% growth since 2019 was accounted for by the services sector, and 0.6 percentage points by the public sector. Production and construction each contributed 0.2 percentage points. That somewhat undermines the thesis that the economy boomed in 2021 because of superior access for goods going to theand Britain.
North of the border, attitudes towards reunification are largely a matter of the heart, rather than the head. That is not so unusual internationally: Brexit showed that people do not always vote with their wallets; and Germany, that divided countries can be reunited despite great disparities and vast cost. For nationalists, uniting contentiously divided territory has a powerful patriotic allure. Unionists, too, identify strongly with their political position.
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