British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a “decisive breakthrough” deal on post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.
Trade barriers will be removed in the Irish Sea, VAT and excise changes will be applied across the whole of the UK, and a new “Green and Red Lane” system—called the “Windsor Framework”—would replace the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Prime Minister announced on Monday.
The landmark agreement on the controversial trading arrangements was finalised on Monday afternoon at a Berkshire summit with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking alongside the EU chief at a press conference in Windsor, Sunak said the deal not only protected Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom, but was the “beginning of a new chapter” in Britain’s relationship with the European Union (EU).
“I’m pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough,” Sunak told reporters.
“Together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new ‘Windsor Framework.’”
Green and Red Lane Trading System
Sunak said the legal text of the agreement had been amended to allow “critical” VAT and excise changes for the whole of the UK, including alcohol duty.He added: “The United Kingdom and European Union may have had our differences in the past but we are allies, trading partners, and friends, something that we have seen clearly in the past year as we join with others to support Ukraine.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.”
Referencing the importance of the Good Friday Agreement in the deal breakthrough, the Prime Minister said the new Brexit agreement was “preserving that delicate balance and charting a new way forward for the people of Northern Ireland.”
He said goods destined for the region would now be traded and transported on the basis of a new system.
“Today’s agreement delivers the smooth flow of trade within the United Kingdom,” he said.
“Goods destined for Northern Ireland will travel through a new green lane with a separate red lane for goods at risk of moving on to the EU,“ Sunak said. ”Food retailers like supermarkets, restaurants and wholesalers will no longer need hundreds of certificates for every lorry and we will end the situation where food made to UK rules could not be sent to and sold in Northern Ireland.
“This means that if food is available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain, then it will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland,” the prime minister said.
Referencing the process of sending parcels and VAT, he said: “This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea. Second, we have protected Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.”
Windsor Framework
The British Prime Minister and European Commission Chief finalised the long-awaited agreement at a summit in Berkshire on Monday.The crunch meeting lasted just under an hour and 45 minutes.
The new deal effectively rips up former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s protocol deal—a key aspect of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The Northern Ireland protocol was jointly designed by London and Brussels to maintain the flow of trade across the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following the UK’s departure from the EU.
The arrangements shifted customs and regulatory checks to the Irish Sea and created a raft of new red tape on the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with trade in the region remaining subject to certain EU Single Market rules.
Many unionists vociferously opposed the Protocol arrangement, claiming it had undermined Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.
Speaking on Monday, the Prime Minister insisted the new agreement was a “real breakthrough.”
He said: “I also recognise that parties and communities across Northern Ireland will want to take the time to consider the detail of what we’re announcing today.
“And we should give them the time and the space to do that. And I fully respect that.”
He said the deal introduces a new “Stormont brake”—allowing the UK to veto EU laws on goods unless they are supported by both sides of the power-sharing assembly in Northern Ireland.
“This will establish a clear process for which the democratically elected assembly can pull an emergency brake” for changes to EU rules on goods that would have a “significant and lasting” effect on everyday life, he said.
If the brake is pulled, the UK government will have the option of a veto, he added.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the deal “historic,” as she praised the teams involved in the negotiations.
Standing beside the Prime Minister, whom she warmly referred to as “Dear Rishi,” von der Leyen hailed a “new chapter in our partnership” that would foster a “stronger EU-UK relationship.”
She said Brussels would immediately start the ball rolling on the UK joining the EU’s Horizon scientific research programme, marking a clear thawing of tensions that became distinctly palpable under Boris Johnson.
“The new Windsor Framework is here to benefit people in Northern Ireland and support all communities celebrating peace on the island of Ireland,” she said.
“And this is why I believe we can now open a new chapter in our partnership. Stronger EU-UK relationship, standing as close partners, shoulder to shoulder now and in the future.”
Following the announcement, the EU chief planned to have tea with King Charles at Windsor Castle—despite criticisms that the meeting could drag the monarchy into the politically contentious deal.
Backing Challenge
Sunak now faces the challenge of getting the backing of unionists and Tory Eurosceptics on the deal.Earlier on Monday, Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Sunak of a possible Tory revolt if the DUP does not support the deal—despite major concessions expected from the EU.
The former cabinet minister told GB News: “It will all depend on the DUP. If the DUP are against it, I think there will be quite a significant number of Conservatives who are unhappy.”
He said that the position of Boris Johnson, who he described as the “biggest figure in UK politics,” will be “fundamental.”
But arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker, the Minister of State for Northern Ireland who had been on resignation watch, gave Sunak his support.
Leaving 10 Downing Street, he told reporters: “I can only say this: that the Prime Minister is on the cusp of securing a really fantastic result for everyone involved.”
The Prime Minister wouldn’t be drawn on what he would do if Boris Johnson and the hardline Eurosceptic European Research Group would try to block the new deal.
But when asked how unionists might feel that Northern Ireland is still being traded with differently from the rest of the UK, Sunak said people will see the new deal “delivers significant improvements in almost every aspect of their lives”—which he believed had been negatively impacted by the protocol.
He acknowledged that the region has access to the single market and that there is “a lot of EU law” aimed at avoiding a so-called “hard border” with the Republic.
But Sunak said the new deal allows for “further democratic accountability,” providing a “very powerful mechanism” for Stormont to use when it has concerns.
The pound leaped higher against the U.S. dollar and the euro after the deal was struck.
Praise
The deal is set to finalise Brexit more than six years after the 2016 referendum, and to resolve the trading issues created by the Northern Ireland Protocol.Responding to the news on Monday afternoon, Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar welcomed “the positive outcome” of the EU-UK negotiations.
“It is the result of a long and difficult process to find joint solutions,” the Taoiseach tweeted.
“I pay tribute to both teams who have worked hard and in good faith to bring us to this point. I also want to recognise the Northern Irish parties for their constructive engagement.”
Nationalist parties in Northern Ireland also welcomed the deal.
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill welcomed the signing of the Windsor Framework and said it was time to get back to work at Stormont.
She said: “I think most people’s minds at home will very quickly now turn to the fact that we need to be in this institution (Stormont), we need to be working, we need to be tackling things like the health service, creating jobs, growing our economy, taking the full advantage that the protocol affords us.
“The details are still coming hot off the press. We are working through all of that detail.
“I welcome the fact that a deal has been done. We have always said that it was possible to have a deal. We have always said with pragmatism, solutions can be found,” she said.
“The fact that both sides have arrived at this point today, that is something that will be well received.”
Northern Ireland has been without a fully functioning government for a year.
The DUP said it would be abstaining from the political institutions until issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol were fixed.
Under power-sharing rules, the region’s assembly and executive cannot function without the DUP due to the number of seats it holds in the assembly.
That decision plunged Northern Ireland into political crisis a week after historic assembly elections in which Sinn Féin overtook the DUP as the biggest party.
