Northern Ireland border deal appears to break down

The troubled Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangement that the United Kingdom and European Union negotiated as the UK extricated itself from the 27-member bloc, looked to be in tatters on Thursday.

The protocol aims to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland — between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member state — by using remote customs checks and by continuing to treat the province, for administrative but not political purposes, as if it were still in the EU.

By treating Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the UK, however, the protocol has angered some pro-UK groups who are worried it could pave the way for the province to leave the UK and join the Republic of Ireland.

Those concerns led to the biggest political party in Northern Ireland's devolved government, the Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, announcing on Wednesday that it would stop enforcing part of the protocol — border checks on animal, food, and plant products entering the province from the UK.

On Thursday, the protest continued, with the resignation of the leader of Northern Ireland's government, Paul Givan, who is also head of the DUP.

The PA news agency said senior DUP figures were due to meet to agree the exact timing of his resignation, but Edwin Poots, the devolved government's minister of agriculture, confirmed on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show that it would happen.

Givan's resignation means Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill will also have to stand down. She represents Sinn Fein, the second-largest party in the province, which is the other half of the power-sharing government and which wants Northern Ireland to become part of a united Ireland.

O'Neill criticized Givens and the DUP for not enforcing part of the protocol, saying it would "unlawfully interfere with domestic and international law".

John O'Dowd, a Sinn Fein Member of the Legislative Assembly, told the BBC his party will "use whatever powers we have at our disposal to ensure that the protocol remains in place, to protect people here from the worst aspects of … Brexit".

Simon Coveney, the Republic of Ireland's foreign minister, also said Northern Ireland was breaching international law by ignoring part of the protocol.

The BBC said the DUP had been threatening to stop enforcing the deal for months.

The UK government, which has also complained about the protocol in spite of having negotiated it, said it will not interfere in the devolved Northern Ireland government's decision, setting up a likely stand-off between London and Brussels.

Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary in the UK's central government, said on ITV's Peston show that London will not overrule the decision that was a "matter for the Northern Ireland executive" and "within their legal remit".

Sky News quoted a spokesman for the European Commission as saying that the decision to stop enforcing part of the protocol would create "further uncertainty and unpredictability".

"The European Commission has been working tirelessly with the UK government to address practical challenges related to the implementation of the protocol," he said. "The decision … is therefore unhelpful."

While London has insisted it will not overrule the Northern Ireland government, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss does have plans to meet European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, to talk about how the protocol can be improved.