British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an agreement between the UK and the European Union on changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sunak said: “I am pleased to announce that we have now made a decisive breakthrough. Together we have revised the original protocol and today we are announcing the new Windsor framework. The agreement ensures smooth trade across the UK, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards the sovereignty of the people of Northern Ireland.” Fixed changes will be called windsor frames.
According to the Prime Minister, the Windsor framework enables “three big steps forward”. The first is the establishment of two lanes for goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom: a green one for goods destined for the local market and a red one for goods that can be sent onward to the Republic of Ireland, i.e. into the EU.
In the case of the green belt, the existing bureaucratic requirements that make it difficult to bring goods into Northern Ireland from the rest of the country will be removed. The second step assumes that the UK government’s decisions regarding changes to VAT and excise duties will also apply in Northern Ireland (which has not happened so far), and medicines approved by the UK regulator will automatically be allowed to be sold in Northern Ireland.
The third step is to introduce a mechanism that allows the people of Northern Ireland, through Parliament, to block the introduction of EU rules in the province. Sunak explained that EU law will only apply to Northern Ireland if it is necessary to keep the border between it and the Republic of Ireland open and to ensure Northern Irish companies have access to the EU market.
Von der Leyen said the Windsor Framework, which is 27 pages and 13,031 words, “will enable us to start a new chapter” and “provide long-term solutions that will benefit all people and businesses in Northern Ireland”. She also underlined that the framework provides strong safeguards that protect the integrity of the EU single market.
Although the three issues mentioned by Sunak appear to be a negotiating success for the British government, he did not mention the jurisdiction of the EU Court of Justice in matters related to the protocol. The issue has been highly controversial and has been a red line for Northern Irish Unionists and hardline Brexiteers in the Conservative Party.
Sunak announced that due to the agreement, the bill allowing for the unilateral suspension of certain provisions of the protocol was withdrawn. As promised by Sunak, the House of Commons will vote on the deal at a later date. While some hardline Brexit supporters in the Conservative Party may still vote against it, support for the deal has been pledged by the opposition Labor Party.
More challenging, however, is the position of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, which withdrew from the government there more than a year ago in protest against the protocol, which paralyzed its operations. DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said that despite significant progress, there were still key issues of concern. The party will study the document carefully before deciding whether to support or reject the deal. If they decide that the changes are not enough, the agreement may be ruined.
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