- By André Rhoden-Paul
- BBC News
February 26, 2023 at 12:51 GMT
Updated 42 minutes ago
video caption,
Watch: We’ve made progress on the Northern Ireland Brexit deal – Raab
The UK “stands on the cusp” of finalizing a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, the Deputy Prime Minister has said.
Dominic Raab told the BBC the government had made “great progress” in negotiations with the European Union.
The UK wants to change the Northern Ireland Protocol, an agreement with the EU that screens certain goods on entry from the rest of the UK.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was doing “everything” in the negotiations to reach an agreement.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on BBC Sunday, Mr Raab said: “We’re on the cusp, we’ve made a lot of progress, we’re not there yet but it would be a really important deal…
“I think it would be a paradigm shift for communities in Northern Ireland first and foremost, but I think it would be a significant achievement.”
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has complained about what it calls the “democracy deficit” as Northern Ireland is subject to EU rules but has no say.
Mr Raab said the EU had “moved” on some issues, saying: “If there are new rules that would apply in relation to Northern Ireland, it must be right that there is Northern Irish democratic scrutiny over it.”
Signed by Boris Johnson in 2020, the protocol will see Northern Ireland continue to follow some EU laws to allow goods to flow freely across the border into the Republic of Ireland without controls.
The DUP believes the protocol undermines the nation’s position in the rest of the UK and negatively impacts the flow of trade.
The party has prevented the formation of a decentralized Northern Ireland government, leaving it in a political deadlock.
Mr Raab said the UK wanted to see a move away from controls on any consignment of goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. The EU is concerned that goods could jeopardize the internal market when transported between Northern Ireland and the EU.
He proposed an “intelligence-based” rather than a “checkbox” approach to goods – “which effectively means they look at what is happening in the Republic to goods going to Northern Ireland if there’s a risk of them going to the wider world achieve a single market – and if we can do that, it will be a huge win.”
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The Northern Ireland Protocol is a trade agreement negotiated during the Brexit talks. It enables goods to be transported across the Irish land border without being checked.
Before Brexit, it was easy to transport goods across this border as both sides followed the same EU rules. After the UK left, special trade arrangements were required as Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.
The EU has strict food rules and requires border controls when certain goods – like milk and eggs – arrive from non-EU countries.
The land border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland’s troubled political history. It was feared that cameras or border guards – as part of these controls – could lead to instability.
The UK and EU agreed that protecting the Northern Ireland peace agreement – the Good Friday Agreement – was an absolute priority.
Both sides signed the Northern Ireland Protocol as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
It is now part of international law.
Rishi Sunak said Saturday his government is giving “everything we have” to finalize a deal to fix problems with the protocol.
But he has been warned by Eurosceptic Conservative MPs against calling a parliamentary vote on the new deal.
Asked if MPs could vote on a new deal, Mr Raab said: “Parliament will have its ability to express itself.”
Mark Francois, who heads the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, warned Mr Sunak it would be “incredibly unwise” to introduce a new deal without giving MPs a vote.
He told Sky News: “Don’t try to rock Parliament next week as that is likely to go very wrong.
“So if you have a deal you’re proud of, show us the lyrics. Let our lawyers do it for you. Let’s fully understand what it means. Then at that point we might be ready to vote on it.”
He added that EU law must be “stripped” from Northern Ireland to bring it in line with England, Scotland and Wales.
But former Prime Minister John Major has urged Conservative and DUP MPs not to let concerns about the European Court of Justice stand in the way of easing trade and restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland.
He told BBC Radio 4 Westminster Hour: “Their involvement would be tiny… an occasional involvement of the ECJ really shouldn’t prevent an agreement from being reached.
“You’re talking about democracy. Democracy is thrown away when that is the case [Northern Ireland] Assembly does not sit. We need her back.”
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Labour’s shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his party would vote for a new deal in the UK’s national interest and the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“Our verdict is that any deal that comes out will be better than what we have now,” he said.
Also on Saturday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the deal was “heading towards conclusion” and called on the EU and UK to “go the extra mile” to complete the deal.