Rishi Sunak is scheduled to arrive in Northern Ireland later today after striking an agreement with the European Union.
The UK Prime Minister has hailed the Windsor Framework as a "turning point" for Northern Ireland following years of tension stemming from the UK's departure from the EU. The deal removes barriers on trade across the Irish Sea and provides politicians in Stormont with a "veto" on EU law.
Early reaction to the agreement has been relatively positive, with some viewing the set of concessions from Brussels as going further than expected. However, it still includes a role for the European Court of Justice, and the Democratic Unionist Party and Conservative backbenchers in particular will be poring over the fine print of the deal over the coming days.
Read more: DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson issues statement on Windsor Framework
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has welcomed “significant progress” but warned “there remain key issues of concern” regarding the deal. The view of the party will be crucial, if the deal is to help restore powersharing at Stormont.
A key part of the deal is an emergency “Stormont brake” on changes to EU goods rules that can be pulled by the Northern Ireland Assembly, with No 10 hopeful that it will ensure concerns over a “democratic deficit” are addressed. The Prime Minister called it a “very powerful mechanism” for Stormont to use when it has concerns over EU law, as he heralded the overall deal as a “decisive breakthrough”.
“Together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor Framework,” he said. “Today’s agreement delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Leaders in the EU and beyond hailed the progress too, with Ms von der Leyen praising the “new chapter in our partnership” while French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the “important decision”. US President Joe Biden said it was an “essential step” in protecting the Good Friday Agreement, while in Dublin Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the EU had moved “a lot” to facilitate a deal.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, who until only recently had been urging Mr Sunak to see the benefits of the newly-jettisoned Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, remained silent on Monday. A source close to the former prime minister said that he is continuing to study and reflect on the Government’s proposals.
Read more: US President Joe Biden hails UK and EU for reaching deal on protocol with Windsor Framework
But elsewhere within the Conservative ranks there was enthusiastic backing for the Prime Minister, with many senior Tories praising the deal. Northern Ireland minister and former Brexit rebel Steve Baker was one of the most ardent backers of the prime minister’s deal, comparing the level of “statecraft” involved in the negotiations to that leading up to the Good Friday Agreement.
Tory Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG) are to meet on Tuesday and will convene MP Sir Bill Cash’s so-called “star chamber” of lawyers to scrutinise the deal before deciding whether to back it.
The protocol was designed to prevent a hard border with Ireland after Brexit but means Northern Ireland has continued to follow EU rules on goods to prevent checks being needed when crossing into the Republic. Unionists’ anger over the trade barriers in the Irish Sea culminated in the DUP collapsing powersharing in February last year, leaving Northern Ireland without an executive or an assembly.
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