It is shaping up to be a make-or-break week for the Prime Minister. Should he succeed in gaining an agreement from all parties on the Northern Ireland Protocol, it will strengthen his hand and potentially lay the foundations for a turnaround in Conservative fortunes. If he fails, and the Tory Brexit wars reignite, it could render him only the latest Tory leader to be undone by Europe.
Rishi Sunak appears to have secured substantive concessions from the EU in addressing issues relating to the Protocol negotiated by Boris Johnson. First, a reduction in checks for goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland, with those for export to the EU entering a ‘red lane’. Second on state aid regulations and third on the so-called democratic deficit, enabling a greater say for Stormont, albeit without removing the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
