The story of the Northern Ireland Protocol begins in 1921, when 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties gained independence from the United Kingdom.
Since then, the UK and the Republic of Ireland have pursued a degree of regulatory alignment to facilitate reasonably easy movement and commerce between the Republic and the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. Although political pressures have often meant that this easy movement has been theoretical rather than actual, there has always been a degree of regulatory alignment across the island of Ireland and between Ireland and the UK as a result.
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