The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

The UK Trade and Business Commission has taken evidence on several occasions from a wide range of stakeholders on the Northern Ireland Protocol. This involved the Commission making a visit to Belfast in March 2022. In June 2022, the UK Government introduced a 'Northern Ireland Protocol Bill' proposing significant unilateral changes to existing agreements between the UK and EU.

This session of the UK Trade and Business Commission took evidence from experts on the Protocol about what the diplomatic, geopolitical, and economic consequences of the bill could mean for trade and businesses in Northern Ireland.

STUART ANDERSON chaired the Session.

Commissioners met with:

PANEL 1:

PROFESSOR KATY HAYWARD, Professor of Political Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast; Senior Fellow of UK in a Changing Europe.

SIR PETER WESTMACOTT KCMG, LVO, Former UK Ambassador to the United States

MARTIJN de GRAVE, Special Adviser for the UK, Office of Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic

PANEL 2:

ANTON SPISAK, Policy Lead for Trade and Productivity, Tony Blair Institute.

PROFESSOR CATHERINE BARNARD, Professor of European Union and Employment Law, University of Cambridge; Deputy Director of UK in a Changing Europe.

FRANKIE DEVLIN, Partner in Indirect Taxes - VAT & Customs, KPMG Ireland.