A view of Dublin Harbour. After years of dispute over the Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, the parties have now reached an agreement. This provides relief in Germany.
Image: dpa
The export-oriented German economy breathes a sigh of relief. She sees the change in the Northern Ireland protocol as urgently needed to stop the negative trend in the UK business.
Dhe agreement between Great Britain and the EU on the Northern Ireland Agreement provides relief for the export-oriented German economy. This is urgently needed to stop the negative trend in the UK business, said Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), on Monday. “Britain’s exit from the EU has made close trade relations significantly more difficult in recent years. Furthermore, there is considerable planning and legal uncertainty for German companies.” While Great Britain was still Germany’s third most important export market in 2016, the country was only in eighth place in 2022. British plans to deviate from EU rules, for example in data protection, food or chemicals, are dangerous.
After years of dispute, the British government and the EU Commission agreed on Monday to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol, which regulates how the British provinces will be dealt with after Brexit. The additional protocol to the Brexit agreement is about customs rules for trade between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland. Protestants in Northern Ireland in particular were up in arms because they feared that their province could be effectively cut off from the rest of the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London that the new agreement would eliminate any type of border in the Irish Sea.