New Windsor Framework Agreed to Resolve NI Trade Barriers Post-Brexit

Num relance

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed on the “new Windsor Framework” to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland following Brexit.
• The framework includes changes to customs and VAT rules, which Mr Sunak said “removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea”.
• The DUP has refused to form an executive at Stormont until the protocol is ditched.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to override that part of the Brexit deal.
• The bill’s passage through parliament was paused by Mr Sunak and will now be dropped, in return for the EU dropping legal proceedings against the UK.

Os detalhes

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Agree on the “New Windsor Framework”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed on the “new Windsor Framework” to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland following Brexit.

The framework, which was revealed at a news conference following final talks between Mr Sunak and Ms von der Leyen in Windsor, is a “decisive breakthrough” that “delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland”.

The framework includes changes to customs and VAT rules, which Mr Sunak said “removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea”.

Mr Sunak put the deal to his cabinet on Monday afternoon during a virtual meeting and a vote by MPs in the Commons is not expected until possibly next week.

Mr Sunak confirmed parliament will have a vote “at the appropriate time”.

Reactions to the Agreement

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the agreement showed “significant progress has been secured across a number of areas”, but there remained “key issues of concern”. Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill said there should now be no more delays to the restoration of the Stormont institutions.

Ireland’s deputy leader and foreign affairs minister Michael Martin welcomed the deal, saying he believes unionists will see it as a “genuine response” to their concerns.

Mr Sunak will meet the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs on Tuesday evening to try to persuade them to back the deal.

There has been early support from Brexiteer and Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who said the framework “restores Northern Ireland’s place in the union”. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said an agreement was “long overdue” and was “beyond party politics” as he confirmed Labour will support the deal.

Background to the Agreement

The deal follows frustrations around the Northern Ireland Protocol, which aimed to prevent creating a hard border on the island of Ireland – but effectively placed a border in the Irish Sea.

The DUP has refused to form an executive at Stormont until the protocol is ditched, meaning the Assembly has not been functioning for months.

Some businesses have ceased trading due to the extra cost and bureaucracy created by goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK having to be checked.

In response, Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to override that part of the Brexit deal, but this caused tension with the EU, who said the move risked breaching an international treaty.

The bill’s passage through parliament was paused by Mr Sunak and will now be dropped, in return for the EU dropping legal proceedings against the UK.