Northern Ireland

The EU wants to prevent unchecked goods from England, Scotland and Wales entering its single market by the back door via EU member state Ireland.

There are hopes the stand-off can be resolved before the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement

Monday's talks in London were described as "cordial and constructive."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with the main political parties in Northern Ireland on Thursday in his first visit to the region since taking office in October.

The assembly has been crippled since February following the withdrawal of its largest pro-UK party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday hosts his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin, as they bid to end a dispute over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland that has stymied power-sharing.

The British government on Wednesday pushed back a deadline to hold a new election in Northern Ireland until at least March to provide space for progress in talks between London and Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules governing the region.

The UK government could change the law to delay elections in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland's foreign minister said on Wednesday after a meeting with the British minister for the region.

The British government on Friday promised to call a fresh election to Northern Ireland's devolved parliament within the next 12 weeks in a bid to break a political stalemate that could eventually leave the region facing direct rule from London.

The British government was on Friday expected to call the second election this year in Northern Ireland after UK and regional lawmakers failed to resolve a standoff over post-Brexit trade rules.

It has been without a functioning government since February, after the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) collapsed the executive over its staunch opposition to post-Brexit trade rules there.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) warned the British government on Saturday that there is no way they will restore power sharing government in Northern Ireland unless post-Brexit trade checks to the region are removed.

Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney on Friday gave hope of an end to wrangling over post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed Nobel Peace laureate David Trimble as a giant of British history for leading Northern Ireland's Protestant majority to a 1998 peace deal, as allies and former enemies joined to pay their respects at his funeral.

Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government last month unveiled legislation to unilaterally change trading terms for the politically-fraught British province.

Across Northern Ireland late on Monday, more than 250 bonfires were lit in unionist communities to kick off festivities.

The European Commission is willing to negotiate trading arrangements for Northern Ireland with Britain, but only if talks are constructive and do not resume with an outcome already set by London, a top EU official said on Wednesday.

Irwin Armstrong, a former chair of Boris Johnson's Conservative Party in Northern Ireland, has a simple message for the British Prime Minister when it comes to the province's unique post-Brexit trade rules: Don't ruin a good thing.

Unionist parties and the UK government argue the protocol is threatening the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended three decades of violence over British rule in Northern Ireland.

On Monday, the British government introduced legislation to rip up post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland, in an attempt to override the EU withdrawal treaty that it had signed.

By merely publishing its intention to unilaterally override the protocol, the UK is already in breach of international law

Britain published plans on Monday to override some post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland by scrapping checks and challenging the role played by the European Union's court in a new clash with Brussels.

The EU issued no hint that renegotiating the protocol was in the offing, after warning that any UK violation of the Brexit pact could see it hit back with tariffs.

Earlier on Sunday, Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney urged Johnson not to introduce new trade laws that he said could undermine the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The Irish and US governments also urged Northern Ireland's leaders to form a new power-sharing executive, under the terms of a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of bloodshed.

The results, expected from Friday, could have huge constitutional implications for the four-nation UK's future

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week called "Bloody Sunday" a "tragic day in our history".

Both sides say they want to preserve peace and stability by avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland

The UK said it would look at the proposals "seriously and constructively"

Northern Ireland is still deeply divided between pro-UK mainly Protestant unionists and pro-Ireland largely Catholic nationalists.