Irish Examiner view: Storm clouds gather over Article 16

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern signing the Good Friday agreement on April 10, 1998. The Northern Ireland protocol has its roots in the agreement, none of whose major signatories, Bertie Ahern, David Andrews, and Tony Blair are in power today.

We are about to enter a period of increased danger with the British government over the Northern Ireland protocol, the set of rules defining border activity between our country, which is compliant with EU regulations, and the post-Brexit United Kingdom.

It has its roots in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, none of whose major signatories, Bertie Ahern, David Andrews, and Tony Blair are still in power, while the fourth, the influential Mo Mowlam, died from cancer in 2005. Two other major architects, then US president Bill Clinton and special envoy George Mitchell, are no longer on the world stage.