[20180312]IN10869_北爱尔兰、脱欧和爱尔兰边境.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Northern Ireland, Brexit, and the Irish Border ,na,e redacted, Specialist in European Affairs ,na,e redacted, Analyst in European Affairs March 12, 2018 As the 20th anniversary of the April 1998 peace accord for Northern Ireland (known as the Good Friday Agreement or the Belfast Agreement) approaches, concerns are increasing about how the expected exit of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU)or “Brexit”might affect Northern Ireland. The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has become a central issue in the UKs withdrawal negotiations with the EU. Once the UK ceases to be a member of the EUlikely in March 2019Northern Ireland will be the only part of the UK to share a land border with an EU member state (Ireland and the UK both joined the EU in 1973). Agreeing upon arrangements for the post-Brexit UK-Irish border is particularly challenging because of Northern Irelands history of political violence. Roughly 3,500 people died during “the Troubles,” the 30-year sectarian conflict between unionists (Protestants who largely define themselves as British and s