The United Kingdom and the European Union have reached a new post-Brexit deal that seeks to resolve their long-running trade dispute over Northern Ireland. Following high-level talks between UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor, England, the two leaders announced the new Windsor Framework, which amends the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sunak declared that the agreement would ensure “smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protect Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguard sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.” He also noted that the British Parliament would get a vote on the deal once there had been “time for people to digest” it, and expressed optimism that this was the beginning of a new era in UK-EU relations.
The new arrangement is expected to reduce physical checks on goods flowing from the remainder of the UK to Northern Ireland, and give Northern Ireland’s lawmakers a say over the EU rules it has to implement under the complicated terms of Britain’s exit from the bloc. However, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to end the political deadlock in Northern Ireland and satisfy critics in Britain and the province. The leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Jeffrey Donaldson, said that while it was clear that significant progress had been made across a number of areas on the trade rules for Northern Ireland, key issues of concern remain. He added that the party would assess the new arrangements against its “seven tests” and decide whether the deal “respects and restores Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull reported that the “key pillars” of the agreement in principle were the smoothing of trade between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland and the provision of a mechanism – the so-called Stormont Brake – allowing Northern Ireland’s regional assembly to put an emergency brake on EU laws applying there. Von der Leyen praised the deal, saying it would deliver “a practical solution for people and for all communities in Northern Ireland.”
Sunak is due to make a statement to the House of Commons on the agreement later on Monday, while von der Leyen is set to meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle to discuss issues such as climate change and the war in Ukraine. The new deal marks an important step forward in resolving the long-running trade dispute between Britain and the EU over Northern Ireland, but its success will depend on whether it can satisfy critics in Britain and in Northern Ireland itself.