Robert J. Park — Environment · Carbon · Public Affairs

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A dashboard for EU law and the Windsor Framework

· Windsor Framework · EU law · Public affairs · Northern Ireland · Dashboards

Take a packaging firm in Craigavon. From August this year, anything it packs for a Northern Ireland customer has to meet the EU’s new packaging regulation. Anything it packs for a customer in Leeds doesn’t, but carries UK producer-responsibility fees instead. Its tumble-dryer-making neighbour sells CE-marked machines into both markets today, and from January will answer to a new EU Machinery Regulation in one and old GB rules in the other. Neither firm has a lawyer on staff. I’ve built a free page that sets out which rules apply where, with a source behind every line: EU Law and the Windsor Framework.

Close-up of a customs declaration label with a barcode
Which rules apply depends on what you make, where it goes and who buys it.

Why I made it

Under the Windsor Framework, over 300 pieces of EU legislation on goods, customs, animal and plant health, VAT on goods, state aid and the electricity market still apply in Northern Ireland. New EU laws replace old ones every month. Some reach NI automatically, some only if the UK and EU agree, and some never do. MLAs can object to a change through the Stormont Brake, but have tried only once.

The information exists, but it is spread across the NI Assembly, GOV.UK, DAERA, Brussels and Dublin. Most commentary on it argues a side. I wanted something a finance director or a council officer could check in five minutes, with a source behind every line.

What’s on it

  • What applies in NI: 19 EU laws that matter for environment, carbon, products and goods, from the deforestation rules to the new Machinery Regulation, with the dates that matter.
  • What doesn’t: laws people often assume apply here, including the EU carbon border charge and the EU sustainability reporting directive. NI firms can still be caught through EU customers.
  • The Stormont Brake and new EU acts: every Brake case so far, and every EU act added to the Framework since 2024.
  • How it reaches Great Britain: GB firms selling into NI must meet EU rules, and some GB rules are being moved towards the EU’s to keep goods flowing.
  • Open consultations: European Commission and Irish government consultations that are open now, marked where the EU law already applies in NI.
  • What changed: a dated log of every update, and a plain-English guide to the Framework’s moving parts.

How to use it

  1. Check a product or material. Find the law, then follow the link to the official guidance for the detail.
  2. Plan ahead. The “Coming up” list gives the dates that change what applies, starting with the UK–EU summit on 20 November.
  3. Have your say. If a Commission consultation is marked “Yes”, the rule will apply in NI and you can respond directly to Brussels. The Assembly’s scrutiny committee only sees the law after it is made.
  4. Take the data. Every table has a filter box and downloads as a CSV for your own compliance register.

The dashboard is a dated snapshot, not legal advice, and I’ll update it as things change. If you spot a mistake or want help with a rule or a response, get in touch.