Biden’s Visit to Northern Ireland Undermines U.S.-Britain Relations

On Tuesday, United States President Joe Biden traveled to Northern Ireland for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. In 1998, this deal brought a formal end to the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles. The clash was between those who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom (Protestant unionists) and those who wanted Northern Ireland’s integration into the Republic of Ireland (Roman Catholic nationalists).

The peace deal set up a new government in Northern Ireland that would represent both unionists and nationalists. It gave people born in Northern Ireland the ability to have Irish or British nationality, or both.

Brexit complicated matters for Northern Ireland, which is the only part of the United Kingdom to have a land border with a European Union country. With Northern Ireland no longer part of the EU, checks would be required for the transportation of goods between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However, the Good Friday Agreement requires that there be no hard border between the two. In order to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and protect the integrity of the EU single market, the Northern Ireland Protocol was established. It allows for checks on customs, agriculture and food, medicines, etc.

When running for president, Biden made his stance on British interference in setting up a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. On Sept. 16, 2020, he tweeted:

On Nov. 24, 2020, Biden told reporters,

We do not want a guarded border. We’ve worked too long to get Ireland worked out. The idea of having a border north and south once again being closed is just not right, we’ve just got to keep the border open.

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland and Democratic Unionist Party (dup) leader Arlene Foster said that Biden “hates the United Kingdom.” She told GB News, “The fact that he is coming here won’t put any pressure on the Democratic Unionist Party at all, quite the reverse actually, because he is seen by so many people as just simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist.” dup M.P. Sammy Wilson called Biden “anti-British.”

Biden’s interest in steering Northern Ireland away from Britain and toward the EU highlights the declining relationship between the U.S. and Britain. Meanwhile, the EU is also trying to bring Northern Ireland back in.

Learn more: Read “The EU Wants Northern Ireland” and “The UK’s Break From Europe.”