1. For the purposes of this Protocol, any reference to the United Kingdom in the applicable provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement shall be read as referring to the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, as the case may be.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Protocol, any reference in the applicable provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement and of this Protocol, as well as in the provisions of Union law made applicable to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland by this Protocol, to the territory defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 shall be read as including the part of the territory of the United Kingdom to which Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 applies by virtue of Article 6(2) of this Protocol.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1), the term "customs territory" shall have the same meaning as in Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
Titles I and III of Part Three, as well as Part Six shall apply without prejudice to the provisions of this Protocol.
2. For the purposes of Article 6(1) of this Protocol:
– "third country" shall mean a country or territory which does not belong to the customs territories referred to in Article 6(1) of this Protocol;
– "part of the single customs territory" shall mean, on the one hand, the customs territory of the Union defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and, on the other hand, the United Kingdom customs territory.
3. Notwithstanding Articles 4(4) and 4(5) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the provisions of this Protocol referring to Union law or concepts or provisions thereof shall in their implementation and application be interpreted in conformity with the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
4. Notwithstanding Article 6(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement, and unless otherwise provided, where this Protocol makes reference to a Union act, the reference to that act shall be read as referring to it as amended or replaced.
5. Where the Union adopts a new act that falls within the scope of this Protocol, but neither amends nor replaces a Union act listed in the Annexes to this Protocol, the Union shall inform the United Kingdom of this adoption in the Joint Committee. Upon request of the Union or the United Kingdom, the Joint Committee shall hold an exchange of views on the implications of the newly adopted act for the proper functioning of this Protocol within 6 weeks after the request.
As soon as reasonably practical after the Union has informed the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee, the Joint Committee shall either:
(a) adopt a decision adding the newly adopted act to the relevant Annex of this Protocol; or
(b) where an agreement on adding the newly adopted act to the relevant Annex to this Protocol cannot be reached, examine all further possibilities to maintain the good functioning of this Protocol and take any decision necessary to this effect.
If the Joint Committee has not taken a decision within a reasonable time, the Union shall be entitled, after giving notice to the United Kingdom, to take appropriate remedial measures. Such measures shall take effect at the earliest 6 months after the Union informed the United Kingdom in accordance with the first subparagraph, but in no event earlier than the date on which the newly adopted act is implemented in the Union.
6. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article and from Article 7 of the Withdrawal Agreement, unless the Union considers that full or partial access by the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, as the case may be, is strictly necessary to enable the United Kingdom to comply with its obligations under this Protocol, including because access to the relevant information cannot be facilitated by the working group referred to in Article 17 of this Protocol or by any other practical means, the following shall apply: in respect of access to any network, information system, or database established on the basis of Union law, references to Member States and competent authorities of Member States in provisions of Union law made applicable by this Protocol shall not be read as including the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, as the case may be.
7. Authorities of the United Kingdom shall not act as leading authority for risk assessments, examinations, approvals and authorisation procedures provided for in Union law made applicable by this Protocol.
8. Articles 346 and 347 TFEU shall apply to this Protocol as regards measures taken by a Member State or by the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland.