Save this story for later. The UK and EU agreed this should not lead … Moreover, like many issues in post-conflict Northern Ireland, the issue of Brexit maps onto the underlying ethno-national divide: most unionist voters supported Leave; by … Stormont 'must push Brexit transition extension' Northern Ireland's political leaders have been urged to pressure the UK Government to extend the Brexit transition period. There has been almost no physical manifestation of the border … The Troubles, as they were called, were a 30-year period of violence between paramilitary groups who were either unionists, who were Protestant and looked towards the United Kingdom or loyalists who were Catholic and wanted a united Ireland. Michael Gove has said the European Union does not need a “mini embassy" in Belfast after the Brexit transition period. A major focus of Brexit negotiations under the May and Johnson Governments has been how to keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Those involved included members from both of Northern Ireland’s main communities, as well as the many EU and other migrant workers whose right to remain post-Brexit … Mapping Northern Ireland’s Post-Brexit Future. It is a crucial part of the draft Withdrawal Agreement . In the 2016 referendum, 52% of UK voters opted to leave the European Union. Moreover, like many issues in post-conflict Northern Ireland, the issue of Brexit maps onto the underlying ethno-national divide: most unionist voters supported Leave; by a larger margin, most nationalists supported Remain. Latest Northern Ireland news on capital Belfast, the Brexit deal and Bombardier jobs plus more on NI weather, Sinn Féin, IRA and DUP leader Arlene Foster. In Northern Ireland, however, 56% voted to remain. Read: How Brexit threatens peace in Northern Ireland. When Ireland complies with a European arrest warrant, or imports gas via the EU-regulated pipeline between Britain and Ireland… Thanks to EU membership (including the launch of the Single Market in 1992) and the implementation of the peace process, the border between the two States has become a soft border. 29 In addition to posing a threat to the peace process, Brexit could also be a source of instability for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. A majority of voters in Northern Ireland chose to Remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The Northern Ireland protocol aims to avoid the introduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event that there is a no-deal Brexit. But tensions in Northern Ireland go back further than Brexit. A majority of voters in Northern Ireland chose to Remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. By Anna Russel l. January 28, 2020. After Brexit, Northern Ireland will be outside the EU while the Republic of Ireland will remain inside.