, that is a judgement foryou, not at domont, that is a judgement for you, not me, at domont, that isappens. —— stormont. let's take a closer look at what's at the heart of this disagreement and stalemate — the northern ireland protocol. when brexit happened all parties involved agreed the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland should stay open. that was seen as important, given the history of political violence there, to maintain the peace. so northern ireland remained in the eu's single market for goods even while the rest of the united kingdom, left. under the protocol, goods are checked as they arrive in northern ireland — to make sure they comply with the rules of the eu's single market. but unionists say the protocol creates a barrier between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. in late february, uk prime minister rishi sunak met with eu commission president ursula von der leyen, and a new deal was created. among the provisions, the northern ireland assembly would be able to pull an emergency brake for changes to eu goods rules. but the dup has refused t