The previous text contains only four articles; It is this short text that is the legal agreement, but it contains the latter agreement in its timetables. [7] Technically, this proposed agreement can be distinguished as a multi-party agreement, unlike the Belfast Agreement itself. [7] In 2004, negotiations were held between the two DUP and Sinn Féin governments for an agreement to restore the institutions. The talks failed, but a document published by governments detailing the changes to the Belfast agreement was known as the „comprehensive agreement.“ However, on 26 September 2005, it was announced that the Provisional Republican Army of Ireland had completely closed its arsenal of weapons and had „taken it out of service“. Nevertheless, many trade unionists, especially the DUP, remained skeptical. Among the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) had decommissioned all weapons. [21] Further negotiations took place in October 2006 and resulted in the St Andrews Agreement. On Friday, April 10, 1998, at 5:30 p.m., 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.“ The agreement called for the creation of an independent commission to review police rules in Northern Ireland, „including ways to promote broad community support“ for these agreements. The UK government has also pledged to carry out a „large-scale review“ of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.

The agreement contains a complex set of provisions in a number of areas, including: as part of the agreement, the British and Irish governments committed to holding referendums in Northern Ireland and the Republic on 22 May 1998. The referendum on Northern Ireland is expected to approve the deal reached at the multi-party talks. The Republic of Ireland`s referendum should approve the Anglo-Irish agreement and facilitate the modification of the Irish constitution in accordance with the agreement. The overall result of these problems was to undermine trade unionists` confidence in the agreement exploited by the anti-DUP agreement, which eventually overtook the pro-agreement Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in the 2003 general elections. UUP had already resigned from the executive in 2002 following the Stormontgate scandal, in which three men were indicted for intelligence gathering.