evidence: The contested enforcement of the Northern Ireland Protocol [...] This new controversy would further heighten doubts about the applicability of the Protocol and lead Northern Irish unionists to call for its withdrawal once again, without proposing any other solution. [...] [19] It is important to point out that the Prime Minister was making a concession to the Irish nationalists. This concerns the principle of consent which was originally intended to allow the Unionist Democratic Party (DUP) to veto the renewal of the arrangements for the constitutional future of Northern Ireland. According to the new provision, at the end of four years after the end of the transitional period, i.e. at the end of 2024, the Northern Ireland Assembly could decide, by a simple majority vote, not to extend the application of the Protocol. This principle reasserts the right to self-determination of the people of Northern Ireland.