British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday announced a deal to resolve the long-running dispute over the Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol after four months of intense negotiations. The protocol has divided Brexiters and the UK government over the threat of permanently removing Northern Ireland from the UK customs union.
Since 2021, Northern Ireland has remained part of the EU customs bloc due to fear of imposing a hard border on the island of Ireland and the risk of violence and economic damage to the region. The protocol has frustrated the premierships of both Theresa May and Boris Johnson with many hardline Brexiters concerned about a loss of sovereignty and risk posed to the British union.
Dubbed the “The Windsor Framework,” the primary points of the agreement are as follows:
- A new dual-lane system to segregate goods entering and leaving Northern Ireland based on UK or EU origin in order to minimise checks on British goods entering Northern Ireland. A major point of dispute, EU officials have stated this will remove 95% of checks by 2025.
- A so-called ‘Stormont break’ that will give Northern Irish politicians some veto power over EU decisions, provided it has enough support from nationalist and unionist parties.
- Northern Ireland will remain subject to the European Court of Justice and some EU laws with the UK to scrap a planned bill that could help nullify any future deals.
- Businesses moving goods between Britain and Northern Ireland would not need export declarations, with a ban lifted on certain products.
The deal will have to be voted on by Westminster and the EU Parliament, but Northern Irish unionists and Tory Brexiters are already voicing their dissatisfaction. Ousted former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hinted that he may lead an internal Tory rebellion over the deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, the DUP, opposing the proposals.
Downing Street received criticism after King Charles met with von der Leyen following the announcement of the agreement. Unionist politicians accused Downing Street of politicising the monarch to garner support for the protocol agreement.
Sunak confirmed in the House of Commons this week that MPs will have a vote on the new deal as senior Tory politicians warned of disunity within the party.
The announcement is unlikely to help return the regional government in Northern Ireland following the collapse of power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in October 2022 over the protocol.
