| UPDATED: 11:22, Tue, Jan 12, 2021
Link copied
Kuenssberg: Northern Ireland deal ‘makes it easier to walk away’ Sign up to receive our rundown of the day s top stories direct to your inbox
SUBSCRIBE Invalid email
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Brexit negotiations regularly faltered over the issue of the Irish border until Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar settled on the Northern Ireland Protocol. This meant the region would leave the EU along with the rest of the UK, but continue to follow the rules of the bloc’s single market and customs union. Such an arrangement meant seamless trade could continue with the Republic of Ireland, avoiding the revival of a hard border.