DUP to try to use Brexit’s Stormont break for first time

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) says it intends to lift the Stormont break for the first time in an attempt to block new EU rules on chemicals packaging and labeling in Northern Ireland.

The break is part of Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal and gives the Stormont Assembly the power to object to changes to EU rules applying to Northern Ireland.

It needs the support of 30 assembly members from at least two parties.

The DUP currently have 27 signatures meaning they would need the support of the Ulster Unionist Party to trigger a break.

If this number is reached it will be up to the UK Government to decide whether it makes appropriate use of it.

The main condition is that it must be shown that the rules will have “a significant impact on the everyday life of communities in Northern Ireland” that is liable to continue.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said: “This EU regulation introduces a number of new requirements for labels attached to chemical products, including new minimum font size and spacing rules.

“This would render existing labels unusable for most products.

“Critically, these changes will not be required for products marketed in Great Britain.

“The Chemical Industries Association (CIA), which represents chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom, has assessed that the regulation will have a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on everyday life in Northern Ireland.”

If the government assesses that the break has been used appropriately it initiates a procedure with the EU.

The Joint Committee – the UK-EU body responsible for overseeing the Brexit deal – is required to discuss the rule in question.

Once those discussions are finished the UK Government can either send it back to the Assembly for a cross-community vote in what is known as an applicability motion or decide that the rules do not apply in Northern Ireland. Needed

At that stage the government can still avoid a Stormont vote if it assesses that there are “exceptional circumstances”, including an assessment that the rules will not create a new regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

If the UK ultimately decides not to adopt the rule, the EU could take “appropriate remedial measures”, which could include measures to address the fact that NI goods have long been subject to full compliance with EU law. Cannot follow.

In March, Stormont used an applicability motion to block a new EU rule on the protection of geographical indications (GI) for craft and industrial products.

At the time the government said it had taken note of the assembly vote and said in October that it would “continue to evaluate the implications.”

The Stormont break was introduced last year as part of windsor framework,

It gives the Northern Ireland Assembly greater say over how EU laws apply to Northern Ireland – a key demand of the Democratic Unionist Party before the power-sharing boycott is ended.

The framework is the special Brexit deal that applies to Northern Ireland and means it continues to follow certain EU laws relating to goods.