headline: Brexit: What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
text: Northern Ireland Protocol has been a source of tension since it came into force at the start of 2021.
  UK and European Union (EU) are holding talks on a way forward.
  But disagreements over the protocol have stopped the Northern Ireland Assembly functioning and mean new elections may have to be held.
  Northern Ireland Protocol is a trading arrangement, negotiated during Brexit talks. It allows goods to be transported across the Irish land border without the need for checks.
  Before Brexit, it was easy to transport goods across this border because both sides followed the same EU rules. After the UK left, special trading arrangements were needed because Northern Ireland has a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.
  EU has strict food rules and requires border checks when certain goods - such as milk and eggs - arrive from non-EU countries. 
  's why a new system - the Northern Ireland Protocol - was needed.
  rder is a sensitive issue because of Northern Ireland's troubled political history. It was feared that cameras or border posts could lead to instability.
  UK and the EU agreed that protecting the Northern Ireland peace deal - the Good Friday Agreement - was an absolute priority. 
  So, both sides signed the Northern Ireland Protocol as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
  It is now part of international law.
  Instead of checking goods at the Irish border, the protocol agreed that any inspections and document checks would be conducted between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. 
  ke place at Northern Ireland's ports. 
  It was also agreed that Northern Ireland would keep following EU rules on product standards. 
  government wants to create red lanes and green lanes for goods imported from Britain into Northern Ireland.
  green lane would be for trusted traders transporting goods to Northern Ireland only. These would be exempt from checks and customs controls. 
  red lane would be for products going to the EU, including the Republic of Ireland. These would undergo full checks and customs controls.
  x rules would also be changed. Northern Irish businesses currently follow EU rules on state aid and VAT. That means government payments to help firms in Northern Ireland, and tax breaks, must be within limits set by the EU. 
  UK government wants to remove these limits.
  It also wants an independent body to settle disputes over the Northern Ireland Protocol, rather than the European Court of Justice.
  UK government is threatening to make changes without the agreement of the EU.
  Unionist parties support Northern Ireland being part of the UK. They argue that placing an effective border across the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland's place within the UK.
  Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, the DUP, is refusing to take part in Northern Ireland's power-sharing government unless its concerns are resolved.
  Even though the DUP came second in May's elections to Sinn Fein - a nationalist party that accepts the protocol - a new Northern Ireland government cannot be formed without its support. 
  government says it is allowed to change the terms of an international agreement, like the protocol, in order to "safeguard an essential interest".
  It says disputes about the protocol threaten to undermine peace in Northern Ireland. 
  On 15 June the European Commission took legal action against the UK for not keeping to the protocol, and called on the government to return to negotiations.
  It said it was not prepared to renegotiate the protocol, but has offered to work on how the rules apply, including:
  gotiations between the UK and the EU restarted in October - for the first time since February. 
  (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin said both the UK and the EU wanted a negotiated solution, but arriving at an agreed outcome would be difficult.