Both views have been recognized as legitimate. For the first time, the Irish government agreed, in a binding international agreement, that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. [9] The Irish Constitution has also been amended to implicitly recognize Northern Ireland as part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom[7] provided that the majority of the population of the island`s two jurisdictions has agreed to a unified Ireland. On the other hand, the language of the agreement reflects a change in the UK`s emphasis on the one-for-eu law to United Ireland. [9] The agreement therefore left open the question of future sovereignty over Northern Ireland. [10] At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 1998, an American politician named George Mitchell – who led the talks – said: “I am pleased to announce that the two governments and political parties in Northern Ireland have reached an agreement.” Direct domination of London ended in Northern Ireland when power was formally transferred to the new Northern Ireland Assembly, the North-South Council and the Anglo-Irish Council when the opening decisions of the Anglo-Irish Agreement came into force on 2 December 1999. [15] [16] [17] Article 4, paragraph 2 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement (the agreement between the British and Irish governments on the implementation of the Belfast Agreement) required both governments to inquire in writing about compliance with the terms of entry into force of the Anglo-Irish Agreement; The latter is expected to come into effect as soon as both notifications are received. [18] The British government has agreed to participate in a televised ceremony at Iveagh House in Dublin, the Irish Foreign Office.

Peter Mandelson, Minister of Northern Ireland, participated in his participation in early December 2, 1999. He exchanged notifications with David Andrews, the Irish Foreign Secretary. Shortly after the ceremony, at 10:30 a.m., the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, signed the declaration of formal amendment of Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution. He then informed the D`il that the Anglo-Irish agreement had entered into force (including some endorsements to the Belfast Agreement). [19] The British government is virtually out of the game and neither Parliament nor the British people have the legal right, as part of this agreement, to obstruct the achievement of Irish unity if it had the approval of the north and south people… Our nation is and will remain a nation of 32 circles. Antrim and Down are and will remain a part of Ireland, just like any southern county. [20] During negotiations on the UK`s planned withdrawal from the European Union in 2019, the EU presented a position paper on its concerns about Britain`s support for the Good Friday agreement during Brexit. The position paper deals with issues such as the prevention of a hard border, north-south cooperation between the Republic of Northern Ireland, the birthright of all Northern Ireland residents (as stated in the agreement) and the common travel area. [31] [32] Anyone who was born in Northern Ireland and is therefore entitled to an Irish passport under the Good Friday Agreement may retain European citizenship after Brexit. [33] As part of the EU`s Brexit negotiating guidelines, the UK was asked to convince other EU members that these issues had been addressed in order to enter the second phase of the Brexit negotiations.