How will Brexit deal affect people in Northern Ireland from January 1?

 The changes are due to come into effect from January 1

By

Brendan Hughes

• 11:20, 30 DEC 2020

Special arrangements were already secured for Northern Ireland before the UK-EU trade deal was agreed (Image: Getty)

From Friday, New Year's Day 2021, people in Northern Ireland will begin to see changes to everyday life as a result of Brexit.

The UK voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June 2016, but the practical out-workings of that decision are only just beginning.

While Brexit technically happened 11 months ago, the UK has been in a standstill transition period during which negotiations were held on a future trading relationship.

This post-Brexit trade deal was finally agreed on Christmas Eve, running to more than 1,200 pages.

While the deal still has to be voted for in the House of Commons, it is expected to comfortably pass due to the Conservative Party's majority and support from Labour.

Special arrangements were already secured for Northern Ireland as a result of 2019's Withdrawal Agreement which formally removed the UK from the European trading bloc.

It included the Northern Ireland Protocol, aimed at preventing a hard land border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

The arrangement involves keeping Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods and applying EU customs rules at its ports - meaning additional checks for goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Here is a rundown of the changes people in Northern Ireland can expect from January 1.

What will happen to my regular grocery shop?

Stock image (Image: Getty Images)

 The trade deal means no extra charges (tariffs) on goods or limits on the amount that can be traded (quotas) between the UK and EU.

Supermarkets will be given a "grace period" of several months to avoid any disruption to food supplies transported from Britain to Northern Ireland after January 1.

Tesco chairman John Allan has said any changes to food prices after Brexit will likely be "very modest indeed" and any differences to "intra-Ireland" trade will be "marginal".

Is travel to the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and mainland Europe affected?

Citizens of the UK and Ireland can still move freely to live, work and study within the two jurisdictions due to their longstanding Common Travel Area arrangement predating EU membership.

People in Northern Ireland can also use their rights under the Good Friday Agreement to retain freedom of movement in the EU, as the Agreement allows people from Northern Ireland to be British, Irish or both.

Irish passport holders in Northern Ireland can continue to move and reside freely within the EU.

But British passport holders in Northern Ireland lose free movement entitlements to mainland EU. They are being advised to ensure their passports have at least six months' validity and were issued less than 10 years ago, and they will need a visa for stays in mainland EU of longer than 90 days in every 180-day period.

UK passport holders will also no longer be able to use the EU passport queue at borders and airports.

What about travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland?

While nothing changes for NI to GB travel, there will be differences in the opposite direction.

This is because while Britain is leaving the EU customs union and single market, Northern Ireland will continue to follow many of these rules.

This will include food products - such as meat, fish and eggs - arriving from Britain into Northern Ireland facing checks at ports to ensure they comply with EU standards.

Giving a simple example of the implications for travellers going from GB to NI, travel writer Simon Calder told the BBC: "You won't be able to bring any ham or cheese sandwiches because they are meat and dairy."

Is my driving licence valid for driving while travelling in the EU?

A driving licence from Northern Ireland will continue to be valid for driving in the EU, including the Republic of Ireland.

Drivers from Northern Ireland travelling across the border will not need an International Driving Permit (IDP). However, motorists who only have a paper licence will need an IDP in some EU countries.

A green card from your insurer will be needed for driving in the Republic and mainland Europe, according to the Irish government website.

Residents in the Republic who hold a UK or Northern Ireland driving licence will need to contact the National Driver Licence Service to exchange their licence as it will not be valid from January 1.

The UK government has advised that arrangements for EU licence holders visiting or living in the UK will not change.

What happens to EU pet passports?

Stock image (Image: Getty Images)

 There will be no changes to the current rules for Northern Ireland pet owners travelling to the Republic or the rest of the EU.

Current EU pet passports will no longer be valid from January 1, but pet owners in Northern Ireland can contact their vet to update their pet passport to allow for continued travel.

However, there will be changes for travel with pets from Britain into Northern Ireland or the EU.

Owners of dogs, cats or ferrets must ensure measures are taken including having their pets are microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.

Is using my mobile phone abroad going to cost more?

At least for now, it should not become more expensive.

The UK's four main providers - O2, EE, Vodafone and Three - say they have no plans to reintroduce roaming charges, but they would be free to do so in future.

The British government has set a cap of £45 (€50) in any billing period in a bid to protect against excessive fees.

Will European health insurance cards still work?

European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) cards, which allow state-provided emergency medical care in Europe, will remain valid until they expire.

The UK government has said it will be replaced by its own UK Global Health Insurance Card, the details of which have yet to be finalised.

Either way, the Irish government has committed to funding the EHIC scheme for people in Northern Ireland.

Can I study in mainland Europe?

While students at universities in Britain will no longer be able to take part in the Erasmus exchange programme, in Northern Ireland students will still be eligible due to an Irish government funding pledge worth an estimated €2.1m per year.

Erasmus allows students to study or undertake a work placement in another EU member state while having their fees covered.

Does duty-free shopping make a return?

Stock image (Image: Getty Images)

 

Duty-free sales return for passengers travelling between Ireland and Britain, but it will not apply for travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

According to the UK government website, travellers returning from the EU will have a new duty-free allowance of 200 cigarettes; nine litres of sparkling wine or four litres of spirits; 18 litres of still wine; and 42 litres of beer.

Can businesses in Northern Ireland still trade with the Republic, Britain and mainland Europe?

Britain is no longer be part of the EU's Single Market and Customs Union, but Northern Ireland will retain some ties to the EU.

The Northern Ireland Protocol means the region remains in the EU's single market for goods and applies EU customs rules at its ports.

This means no new checks or controls for north-south trade on the island of Ireland.

However, goods arriving from Britain will face some checks and controls at Northern Ireland's ports from January 1 .

How is the fisheries trade affected in Northern Ireland?

Fishing rights was a key sticking point in negotiations on a UK-EU trade deal.

The UK will have control over its fishing grounds, but EU boats will be able to fish in UK waters for some years to come at least.

Some 25% of the value of EU boats' current catch will be made available for UK fishing boats over a five-and-a-half-year phasing-in period.

After that, the UK and EU will regularly negotiate on access to each other's waters, which would include Northern Ireland.

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/how-brexit-deal-affect-people-19532773

Northern Ireland Assembly votes against Boris Johnson's post-Brexit trade deal

MLAs held the debate as a majority of MPs backed a bill bringing the trade deal into UK law

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By

Brendan Hughes

• 19:53, 30 DEC 2020

Parliament Buildings, Stormont (Image: Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye)

The Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected the UK government's post- Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

The vote will not affect the end of the transition period later this week, but Stormont speaker Alex Maskey will convey the Assembly's view to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

MLAs held the debate as an overwhelming majority of MPs at Westminster backed a bill bringing the trade deal into UK law.

The European Union (Future Relationship) Bill was passed by 521 to 73 votes in the House of Commons.

All of Northern Ireland's MPs who take their seats at Westminster voted against the trade deal.

In Belfast, MLAs voted by 47 to 38 in favour of an SDLP -amended motion rejecting Brexit and withholding consent for the legislation.

The Assembly was recalled early from recess by the first and deputy first ministers to debate the tariff-free trade deal announced on Christmas Eve.

There was criticism of the deal from each of the parties represented in the Assembly.

First Minister Arlene Foster moved the original motion, which was simply that the Assembly would note the UK-EU trade deal.

The DUP leader said: "A free-trade deal is better than no deal, but for Northern Ireland this deal does not undo the detrimental aspects of the Protocol."

While Britain is leaving the EU customs union and single market, Northern Ireland will continue to follow many of these rules under the Northern Ireland Protocol secured in 2019's Withdrawal Agreement.

The arrangement, which aims to prevent a hard land border with the Irish Republic, will mean additional checks for goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill, vice-president of Sinn Féin, said: "There is no good Brexit for the people of the island of Ireland from whatever tradition or culture you may come from."

Four amendments were put forward, which all fell bar the fourth which was proposed by the SDLP:

• The first amendment, proposed by Sinn Féin, called for the "full implementation of the Protocol to mitigate some of the most negative impacts of Brexit". It fell by 26 votes to 38.
• The second, proposed by the UUP, called for safeguards to protect trade for at least a year. It fell by 38 votes to 49.
• The third, proposed by DUP MLAs, called for the Executive to work with the UK government to "mitigate against those damaging outcomes flowing from the protocol". It fell by 37 votes to 49.
• The successful SDLP motion rejected Brexit in line with the EU referendum result in Northern Ireland, called for the implementation of the Protocol, and for the Assembly to "decline legislative consent to the British government to impose the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill, their inferior trade deal and their Brexit against the will of the people of Northern Ireland".

Speaking outside the chamber, SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said Stormont had set an "important precedent".

"The British government must accept that it does not have the support or the confidence of the people of Northern Ireland for their Brexit," she said.

In the Commons, DUP chief whip Sammy Wilson said the "euphoria" of leaving the EU was "tinged with sadness" because of the Prime Minister's deal.

"Northern Ireland will not enjoy all the benefits of this deal, and indeed we will still find ourselves in many ways tied to some of the restrictions of EU membership," he said.

Mr Wilson denied the deal damages the Union, insisting Northern Ireland will remain in the UK rather than "joining the Irish Republic, a small nation which will bob about in the storms of economic chaos".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood rejected the Brexit deal, saying that Northern Ireland has "chosen a different path to the one driven by English nationalism".

He told MPs he believes the "United Kingdom is coming to an end" and it brought a responsibility to "conduct the coming conversation with patience, care and compassion".

Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said the Conservative government "owns this deal" and he was not prepared to "acquiesce in a monumental act of self-harm".

However, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis insisted the deal will benefit the region.

He also rejected the suggestion that Brexit could hasten the end of the union between Northern Ireland and Britain.

"I fundamentally disagree with that, I think actually quite the opposite," he told media in a virtual press conference.

He added: "As we leave the transition period, Northern Ireland is going to have this phenomenal benefit of being not just part of the UK customs territory and single market, but also that ability to trade freely with the EU.

"It's going to have a unique position that if it wasn't part of the United Kingdom, it wouldn't have."

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/northern-ireland-assembly-votes-against-19541251

Arlene Foster: Brexit is a 'gateway of opportunity'

First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster spoke to the BBC's Andrew Marr about the UK's current Brexit situation and Northern Ireland's current border control.

Published

1 hour ago

Section

BBC News

Subsection

Northern Ireland   3 January 2021 11:09

15 things Vote Leave promised on Brexit — and what it got

 Some Leave voters may be disappointed.

Now that the Brexit deal has been agreed, how do Vote Leave's promises look? | 

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

BY EMILIO CASALICCHIO

December 24, 2020 9:40 pm

LONDON — It was a long time coming, but the Brexit campaign can finally be judged on its promises. 

In 2016, Vote Leave made a series of pledges, suggestions and assertions about what would happen if Britain voted to quit the EU and negotiated a new relationship. 

After the Brexit process claimed two prime ministers, Vote Leave ended up running the U.K. government. Its figurehead, Boris Johnson, is the prime minister. Its mastermind, Dominic Cummings, was until this month his top adviser. Other senior figures such as Michael Gove, Gisela Stuart and numerous MPs and aides are now working in and around the Downing Street machine. 

It means the people who made the promises were the people tasked with delivering them. And with the trade deal between the EU and U.K. now agreed, their record can be tested.

Here is POLITICO's rundown of what Vote Leave promised and what it delivered.

1. Trade with the EU will be tariff-free and involve minimal bureaucracy

The U.K. has clinched a tariff-free, quota-free trade deal with the EU. But it comes with numerous strings attached and significant bureaucracy.

There will be new customs processes for haulers transporting goods between the U.K. and EU, meaning extra paperwork and checks. Truckers will need import and export declarations, security declarations and other paperwork for their shipments. New infrastructure is being built at ports to deal with queues and to check loads. There will also be new processes for trade across the Irish Sea, and both sides will need to comply with "rules of origin" procedures that will check where parts come from.

Meanwhile, the U.K. has signed up to agreements to ensure neither side can undercut the other — the so-called level playing field. On state aid, for example, there will be a dispute settlement mechanism, and both sides will have the right to slap tariffs on the other unilaterally to protect against unfair competition. So the deal is tariff free for now.

Vote Leave also promised that businesses that do not trade with the single market will not need to follow single market rules. The finer details on that front will need to be checked in the legal text, which is still to be published. But at the very least, Northern Ireland will have to follow single market rules to ensure its land border with Ireland will remain open.

2. Northern Ireland border 'absolutely unchanged'

On a visit to Northern Ireland during the EU referendum, Boris Johnson said the border would be “absolutely unchanged.”

He was right that the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Northern Ireland would be the same and that the land border would remain open. 

But to make sure that is possible, the border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is changing. There will be customs procedures for goods crossing the Irish Sea because Northern Ireland will have access to the EU customs union while remaining in the U.K. customs union. 

That will involve paperwork checks and border control posts (though not physically at the border) to undertake physical checks on some plant and animal products.

3. End supremacy of EU law and the EU's Court of Justice

Johnson insisted at a press conference Thursday afternoon that the deal includes no role for the Court of Justice of the EU. It will be worth waiting for the legal text of the deal to be sure. But Northern Ireland will remain subject to EU customs union and single market rules, which will be overseen by the Court of Justice. So it would be wrong to suggest the entire U.K. will not be subject to judgments from the court.

4. Take back control on immigration and asylum, and cut migration to the tens of thousands

Downing Street is implementing the points-based system that was long promised. It means free movement with the EU is ending and citizens from the Continent will be treated the same as others from around the world. 

But it is still unlikely that the U.K. will cut immigration to the tens of thousands, as Gove promised Brexit would allow it to do.

The government has also promised to take a harsher line on asylum as it will no longer be bound by EU rules. 

5. Britain will take back control of its fisheries

Johnson promised during the referendum campaign that Britain would "take back control" of its waters. The pledge was vague, although others in the broader Leave campaign, such as Nigel Farage and his Fishing for Leave group, were clearer about the objectives, including the U.K. regaining "all fisheries resources."

At the start of the negotiations, Johnson said he wanted talks on EU fishing access to U.K. waters to take place annually. Eventually it will, but there is a process to get there.

It involves a five-and-a-half-year transition, during which the EU will have full access, but the quantity of fish the U.K. can take out of shared waters will increase. Negotiations would be annual after that, and the EU will be able to retaliate with tariffs if the U.K. refuses to grant it access. So it depends on the definition of "control."

The important detail is exactly how much more fish the U.K. will get to take out of shared waters across 100 or so stocks.

Johnson said Thursday that the amount of fish the U.K. can catch in its own waters will be "rising substantially from roughly half today to closer to two-thirds in five and a half years," after which it can be reassessed. One person familiar with the detail said the U.K. would end up with a 25 percent share of the current EU quota.

6. £350M for the NHS instead of being sent to Brussels

Theresa May did agree to increase the NHS budget by £20 billion a year by 2023, which she claimed would mean a boost of £600 million a week in real terms by 2023-24.

But the extra cash was not a “Brexit dividend” as she and Vote Leave claimed it would be. The U.K. net contribution to the EU budget was more like £230 million a week, but Britain has had to spend huge sums on the divorce bill and on preparations for Brexit. So the NHS did get a funding boost but this isn't as a result of the EU departure. 

7. New trade deals, and access to a European trading zone 'from Iceland to Russia'

The U.K. has so far failed to sign a single brand new trade deal that it did not have as part of EU membership. It has been negotiating with the U.S., Australia and New Zealand and the government insists progress is going well. 

It signed a deal with Japan, which was largely based on the deal Japan has with the EU, although the U.K. did negotiate some different terms. It has also signed a number of rollover agreements the EU has with other nations. 

The U.K. can continue to negotiate with other nations and in time will no doubt agree more trade deals, so the promises could be borne out.

During the referendum campaign, Gove said the U.K. would "be part of a free trade zone that extends from Iceland to the Russian border … we would have full access to the European market but we would be free from EU regulation."

Whether or not that has been achieved depends in part on the definition of "free trade." The U.K. has agreed a tariff-free, quota-free deal, but the customs barriers have increased, it is still subject to numerous EU conditions, and there are still big gaps on services — for example, many business travelers will need work visas.

Britain still needs to lock in trading terms for EFTA states Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, and complete a free trade agreement with Turkey.

8. Continue cooperating on security issues and counter-terrorism

“I’m absolutely confident this is a deal that protects our police cooperation, protects our ability to catch criminals and to share intelligence across the European continent in the way we have done for many years," Johnson said Thursday. "I don’t think people should have fears on that score."

It will not quite be the same though. Both sides will continue to cooperate on security and counter-terrorism — but there is no doubt that cooperation has been weakened compared with EU membership.

The most important change is that the U.K. will no longer have direct, real-time access to EU security databases, such as on passenger records, criminal records, DNA and fingerprints. The deal allows for "ambitious and timely arrangements" to share such data, according to an EU document.

The U.K. will continue to observe the European Convention on Human Rights, and could see law enforcement and judicial cooperation cut off if it fails to do so. It will also have to adhere to strict data standards.

There will be "cooperation" between Europol and Eurojust, but that will amount to nothing more than what other third countries get when dealing with the EU. However, in other areas, such as the extradition of criminals, the cooperation will be closer than with third countries.

9. Financial protection for farmers who get cash from Brussels

The government will implement a new regime in the years to 2025 that will change the rules for funding farmers in England. Cash will be tied not to the amount of land, as in the EU system, but to whether that land is used for public good. 

It is unclear whether, in the long run, farmers stand to receive the same amount of money as they do now, as Vote Leave promised.

10. Continued participation in EU science research schemes, deeper cooperation on scientific collaboration, plus increased funding for science

The U.K. is retaining membership of the Horizon Europe program, under which EU states pool funding for science projects. It will also continue to participate in the Euratom Research and Training program, the Copernicus space program and others.

At his press conference Thursday afternoon, Johnson said the U.K. wanted to be a "collaborative science superpower." Britain has been boosting its science funding, which is on course to increase to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2027. More than £10 billion was allocated for research as part of the 2020 budget.

However, the U.K. will not take part in the Erasmus scheme, the university exchange program under which thousands of U.K. students attend EU institutions each year. Johnson said it was too expensive and a net loss for Britain, but he said a new scheme would be launched, named after Alan Turing, which will seek to help students attend universities around the world.

11. Wages will be higher

Umm ... come back to us in a few years to work out what happened on this. But even government economic forecasters reckon a deal with the EU will hit U.K. GDP compared with retaining membership. Some wages in some sectors might increase (customs officials?) but others might even lose their jobs.

12. The union will be stronger

Gove argued on the Andrew Marr show during the referendum: “If we vote to leave, then I think the union will be stronger. Scottish nationalism has grown since we entered the European Union. There wasn’t a Scottish Nationalist MP elected at any general election when we were outside the EU.”

But in recent months, repeated polls have shown that Scotland would vote for independence if given another referendum, with Brexit a particular grievance for Scottish National Party voters. The debate is turning to whether Johnson will be able to hold off on granting one if the SNP wins big in Scottish elections in 2021.

13. Cut VAT on energy bills to save the average household £64 a year

EU rules do mean that the U.K. is unable to cut VAT on energy bills below 5 percent. Outside the EU it can. But Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who also backed Brexit, has not announced that the government will make the change. The promise remains outstanding.

14. Scrap VAT on sanitary products

The EU has long insisted it will scrap VAT on sanitary products but is still yet to do so. Sunak announced in his March budget that it would be scrapped in the U.K.

Johnson won a concession from Brussels when he struck the Withdrawal Agreement that the so-called “tampon tax” would not apply to Northern Ireland if it remains in the customs union, which it will. So that's a checkpoint for Vote Leave.

15. The new treaty should be ready within two years and before the next election (which was May 2020)

Well ... the timescales Vote Leave set out in its campaign literature were ambitious, especially with the benefit of hindsight. But no one knew then that Theresa May would call an election and lose her House of Commons majority, which put the brakes on progress. 

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https://www.politico.eu/article/15-things-uk-vote-leave-promised-on-brexit-and-what-it-got/