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After almost two years, there is still no end in sight to the political crisis in Northern Ireland.

As the British news agency PA and the BBC reported on Monday, a government is no longer expected to be formed before Christmas. The reason is the ongoing boycott of the main Protestant unionist party DUP: She is calling for a complete end to Brexit goods controls between the former civil war zone and the rest of Britain.

Further talks were planned for Monday led by British Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris. However, the BBC and PA quoted DUP sources as saying the negotiation process had not yet been completed. This means that an agreement before the Christmas holidays is virtually impossible, it was said. The British government is offering financial support worth 2.5 billion pounds (2.8 billion francs) if the regional parliament in Belfast resumes work.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) advocates a union with Great Britain. In February 2022, she dropped the unity government with the strongest Catholic-republican force Sinn Fein, which seeks reunification with the Republic of Ireland. The ‘power sharing’ between the two largest parties from both confessional camps is laid down in the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of civil war in 1998.

Due to the DUP’s concerns, Britain and the European Commission settled the dispute over Brexit rules for Northern Ireland with a new agreement in February. This ‘Windsor Framework’ is intended to ensure smooth trade between Britain and the province. However, the DUP continues to push for an end to all customs checks in Britain. These had become necessary due to Brexit. (saw/sda/dpa)