section_path: Politics
section_name: Politics
paragraph_text: Politics
  
  The island is divided between the Republic of Ireland, an independent state, and Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. They share an open border and both are part of the Common Travel Area and as a consequence, there is free movement of people, goods, services and capital across the border.
  
  The Republic of Ireland is a member state of the European Union while the United Kingdom is a former member state, having both acceded to its precursor entity, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1973 but the UK left the European Union in 2020 after a referendum on EU membership was held in 2016 which resulted in 51.9% of UK voters choosing to leave the bloc.