The prime minister has said that there has been a “decisive breakthrough” in negotiations with the EU about Northern Ireland‘s post-Brexit commercial arrangements.
Three years after the original Brexit agreement, Rishi Sunak introduced the “new Windsor framework” during a news conference with EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen.
The British leader admitted that the UK and EU had “had our disputes” but said that “a new chapter in our partnership” is underway.
The agreement includes green lane and red lane trade routes – with goods remaining in the UK using the green lane to avoid customs bureaucracy and goods moving to the EU being sent in the red lane.
A ‘landmark’ settlement on medicines has also been promised, as drugs approved for use by the UK’s medicines regulator will become automatically available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland.
The arrangement comes with a new ‘Stormont brake’ – a move designed to ‘safeguard’ Northern Ireland’s sovereignty.
‘The elected Assembly can pull the brake for changes to EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives’, Mr Sunak said. ‘When pulled, the UK government will have a veto.’
‘ECJ will have the final say’ – Ursula von der Leyen on new Brexit NI deal
He has promised his deal 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’.
But there are still hurdles to overcome, as Mr Sunak must now seek to win the backing of unionists and Tory Eurosceptics.
Parliament will have a vote on the agreement ‘and that vote will be respected’, he announced today after officials previously refused to confirm this would be the case.
Ms von der Leyen said the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the ‘sole and ultimate arbiter of EU law’ and will have the ‘final say’ on single market decisions.
‘Extensive consultations’ with the UK and Northern Ireland will regulate the system, she added.
The EU chief will go on to have tea with the King at Windsor Castle, despite criticism that the meeting would drag Charles into the politically contentious deal.
Today we are changing the Northern Ireland Protocol and announcing the new Windsor Framework.
This agreement:
ð Delivers smooth flowing trade within the whole UK
ð¬ð§ Protects Northern Irelandâs place in our Union
â Safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland pic.twitter.com/fy8JS1QDLR
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 27, 2023
The PM said: ‘For a quarter of a century the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has endured because at its heart it is respectful to the aspirations and identity of all communities. Today’s agreement is about preserving that delicate balance and charting a new way forward for the people of Northern Ireland.’
After revealing the planned red and green lanes, he 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.’
Going on to reference the process of sending parcels and VAT, he added: ‘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.’
Ms von der Leyen has said she took ‘pride’ in delivering on the commitment to fix the issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
‘This new framework will allow us to begin a new chapter’, she said. ‘It provides for long-lasting solutions that both of us are confident will work for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland. Solutions that respond directly to the concerns they have raised.’
The PM hopes the deal will win the approval of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) so powersharing can be restored in Northern Ireland to get Stormont back up and running.
Mr Sunak said he understood that parties will want to consider the agreement in detail, ‘a process that will need time and care’.
Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson previously said: ‘We’ll take our time to consider the detail and measure a deal against our seven tests.’
The value of the pound and of the UK’s biggest companies dropped as the prime minister and Ms von der Leyen started speaking at the press conference in Windsor.
Both sterling and the FTSE 100 had been trading up earlier in the day in anticipation of a new Brexit deal, but they gave back some of those gains during the press conference.