Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there is still “work to do” on securing a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol. “We have not got a deal yet,” he added, speaking after “positive conversations” with Northern Ireland’s political parties. Sources suggest an agreement between the EU and the UK could be reached as early as next week. The DUP leader said the PM faces a “big moment” to agree to the “right deal” on post-Brexit trade arrangements. Mr. Sunak said: “There’s more work to do and that’s why my ministerial colleagues and I will be talking to the European Union intensely. “The tests I’ve set myself is that we protect Northern Ireland’s place in our internal market, that we protect the Belfast Agreement, and that we resolve the practical issues that the protocol is causing families and businesses in Northern Ireland and crucially that we address the democratic deficit.”
The Northern Ireland Protocol is the trade deal that was agreed upon to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border after Brexit. It is at the heart of a political impasse in Northern Ireland, with unionist parties arguing that placing an effective trade border across the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland’s place within the UK. The largest of those parties is the DUP which refuses to take part in Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government – introduced in the 1990s as a way of ending decades of violence – unless its concerns are resolved. Speaking after his meeting with the prime minister, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had yet to see the final text of an agreement but that “clearly this is a big moment”.
“The next generation of Northern Ireland and its people requires us all, I think, collectively to use our best efforts – particularly the prime minister and the European Commission president – to get these issues resolved and to get to a place where the political institutions can be restored.” Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said it was her understanding that “very significant progress has been made” and it was “game on”. “I believe that a deal is absolutely possible and absolutely necessary and I hope that we see a speedy successful conclusion to matters,” she told reporters.
Seven tests
The DUP came second in May 2022 elections to Sinn Féin – a republican party that accepts the protocol – and a new Northern Ireland government cannot be formed without its support. The party has said it must be satisfied with any settlement before it agrees to return to power-sharing. Last year, it outlined seven tests that must be met in any new UK-EU deal. In recent days, senior DUP members said they would also judge any deal on “the promises the government itself has made in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill”, including the application of EU law and therefore the role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.
The party has said it is unacceptable that EU law applies to Northern Ireland because it is part of the EU single market for goods. The Protocol Bill, which is proceeding through parliament, would give the UK government unilateral powers to change the operation and oversight of the protocol.
‘Hard work continues’
The protocol has split political opinion and the UK and the EU have been in lengthy negotiations about making changes to how it operates. Meanwhile, the foreign secretary has also met European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. After the meeting, James Cleverly said they discussed the work ongoing between Great Britain and the EU to find a solution to the protocol. Mr Sefcovic said it had been a constructive engagement, but that “hard work continues”.
In a meeting with EU ambassadors, Mr Sefcovic put member states on alert for a possible deal; however, no timeline was given. “It’s unclear if it’s a matter of days or weeks,” said one diplomat. Mr Sefcovic is also said to have been “crystal clear” that the European Court of Justice will retain its role as final arbiter of the treaty. Tomorrow’s bilateral meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and Rishi Sunak, at the Munich Security Conference is being described as an “important moment”. The pair will “address the state of play” of the protocol talks – amongst other issues, her spokesperson said.
What are the main stumbling blocks?
There are two main areas of focus in the UK-EU negotiations: the movement of goods and how any disputes should be resolved. As far back as October 2021 the EU and UK had some form of agreement on the movement of goods. They both had proposals that goods coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, and which are being consumed there, should face only light touch controls. However, there has been no deal on what this would mean in practice. Dispute resolution is mostly about the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which is the ultimate arbiter of EU law.
The UK government appears to want an arrangement where the ECJ’s role would be diluted or put at arms length. Some Conservative MPs want the ECJ removed from protocol disputes altogether but the EU has said that would be impossible.
‘Not over the line yet’
The Alliance Party’s leader, Naomi Long, the first to meet the prime minister, said “things are gradually moving in the direction of a potential deal, but we are not over the line yet”. Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said: “I don’t leave here knowing much more than I did when I went in, but certainly the prime minister was enthusiastic, engaged and positive.”
Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood MP said “detail was scant” during his talks with Mr Sunak, but he left feeling “fairly optimistic” that an agreement was close. On Friday, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said there was a chance in the next few weeks to reach a deal. “When windows of opportunity disappear, sometimes they don’t reappear for quite some time,” he said. “So I really hope that everyone in Ireland and Europe, in Britain and in Northern Ireland will seize this opportunity if it arises.”
Source of tension
The Northern Ireland Protocol was put in place as part of the post-Brexit deal agreed between the UK and the EU in December 2020. It was required because Northern Ireland has a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU country.
It aims to ensure free movement of trade across the Irish land border by conducting checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain instead but it has been a source of tension since it came into force at the start of 2021. Despite concerns among unionist parties, many members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are in favour of the protocol in some form remaining in place. Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the SDLP have said improvements to the protocol are needed to ease its implementation.
