In 2010, the signing of the Hillsborough Agreement transferred police and judicial powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which then began the same year. It also contained an agreement on the controversial parades that had led to persistent conflicts between municipalities. On Friday, April 10, 1998, at 5.30 p.m., an American politician, George Mitchell, said: “I am pleased to announce that the two governments and the political parties of Northern Ireland have reached an agreement.” In 2004, negotiations were held between the two governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin, with a view to an agreement on institution-building. These talks failed, but a document released by governments detailing changes to the Belfast Agreement has been known as the “Global Agreement”. On 26 September, however, on 27 September 2005, it was announced that the Commissional Irish Republican Army had completely closed its arsenal of weapons and had “put it out of use”. Yet many trade unionists, especially the DUP, remained skeptical. Of the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) had taken weapons out of service. [21] Further negotiations took place in October 2006 and resulted in the St. Andrews Agreement. The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and would remain so until a majority of the population of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland wanted something else. Should this happen, the UK and Irish governments will be required to “have a binding commitment” to implement this decision. London`s direct rule ended in Northern Ireland when power officially left the new Northern Ireland Assembly, the North-South Council of Ministers and the Anglo-Irish Council, when the first regulations relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement entered into force on 2 December 1999.

[15] [16] [17] In accordance with Article 4(2) of the Anglo-Irish Agreement (Agreement between the British and Irish Governments for the implementation of the Belfast Agreement), the two governments must inform each other in writing of compliance with the conditions for the entry into force of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. entry into force should take place upon receipt of those two notifications. [18] The British government agreed to participate in a televised ceremony at Iveagh House in Dublin, the Irish Foreign Office. Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, took part very early on 2 December 1999. . .