Centre for Cross Border Studies statement on current discussions regarding the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland

The position of the Centre for Cross Border Studies following the 2016 referendum has been that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU should not undermine the totality of relations encompassed by the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, and the vision for North-South and East-West cooperation it represents. 

As the discussions on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland intensify, we urge all parties to work in partnership in the search for solutions that will safeguard relations within and across these islands, recalling the collaborative efforts of the 1998 Agreement’s co-guarantors and the support provided by key parties beyond these islands.  

It is when the Agreement’s co-guarantors have worked in close partnership, alongside international actors, that Northern Ireland’s journey on the path to peace and reconciliation has been most assured. We therefore ask that the spirit of partnership intensifies again and guides those directly involved in the current deliberations over the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, and that all parties refrain from actions that would undermine the collaboration necessary to protect the promise of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.