The Northern Ireland Assembly has triggered the ‘Stormont brake’ provision of the Windsor Framework for the first time this week (20 March), as a proposed EU law caused an impasse among members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), the BBC reports.
Industrial issue
The proposed law would introduce geographical indications (GIs) for craft and industrial products that would match those already in place to protect food and drink products from particular regions.
It has been opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on the basis that it “would create a new regulatory border within the United Kingdom” and to demonstrate that they now have a greater say over how EU law affects Northern Ireland, following unionist criticism of its recent decision to return to power sharing in Stormont.
Windsor Framework
The current provisions of the Windsor Framework mean that, for a new EU law to automatically enter force, both unionists and nationalists must have consensus on its application.
If they can’t reach consensus, the matter is passed to the UK government in Westminster, which has a veto power. This provides an ‘applicability motion’, requiring Stormont to demonstrate it has the consent of the broader community in Northern Ireland before EU laws are implemented.
Speaking to the Daily Update, University of Liverpool politics professor Jonathan Tonge said that the vote against the law was “the DUP attempting to bare its teeth regarding what it got from its return-to-Stormont deal.
“By ensuring that there is no cross-community consent for a new EU law, the DUP has placed the onus firmly upon the UK government to now resist the application of such a law.
“The expectation from the DUP is that the UK government will indeed object to the law in the UK-EU Joint Committee created to resolve such issues. If the UK government fails to do this, or the EU attempts to press ahead regardless, the [Stormont] brake will look devalued".
DUP return
The DUP agreed to return to Stormont and restore power sharing earlier this year following an agreement with Westminster that was purported to mean the end of checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, offering “unrestricted access” to the entire UK market for Northern Irish firms.
It also provided an extra £3.3bn in funding for the region’s government. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP, hailed the deal as “a good outcome for Northern Ireland”, though he added that the party had not yet “achieved everything we wanted to achieve”.
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