The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit Treaty on Britain leaving the EU. It stipulates that the customs border between Great Britain and the EU runs in the Irish Sea.
In the fight for a deal in the dispute over Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen want to meet in person on Monday. The two meet in Britain, the EU Commission and Sunak’s Downing Street office announced on Sunday night. Politicians decided to continue working personally on practical solutions to the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
The meeting is expected to herald a settlement in the long-running dispute. The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit Treaty on Britain leaving the EU. It stipulates that the customs border between Great Britain and the EU runs in the Irish Sea. This prevented the introduction of border controls between British Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland.
Otherwise, the conflict over the unification of the two parts of Ireland was expected to flare up again. But the controls are also creating difficulties for intra-British trade, and Union-supporting Protestants in Northern Ireland feel isolated from Britain.
Will Sunak bring DUP to his side?
Crucial to the success of a deal is therefore whether Sunak can get Northern Ireland’s largest Protestant unionist party, the DUP, behind him. In protest against the protocol, they have been blocking the formation of a government in the British part of the country for months and demanding drastic changes. The hard core of Brexit supporters in the British Tory party and its predecessor, Boris Johnson, also warned Prime Minister Sunak against making too many concessions to the EU.
In various posts and interviews, Sunak has already prepared his party, his critics and the British people for the deal. “Brexit is not yet fully implemented and I want to get it over with,” Sunak said in an interview with the Sunday Times.
“We need to make Brexit work for the whole of the UK,” he wrote in the conservative Telegraph. According to the newspaper, there is already resistance in the cabinet itself and the Minister of Northern Ireland, Steve Baker, is already considering his resignation. In the Sun tabloid, Sunak assured readers that he would continue to champion Brexit despite his alleged commitment to the EU.
Representatives from London and Brussels have been struggling to find solutions to the problems that have arisen since the Brexit Treaty took effect in 2020. Transition phases unilaterally imposed by London ensured that the necessary controls were still not fully implemented. While former Prime Minister Johnson and his short-term successor Liz Truss have threatened to unilaterally withdraw from the protocol, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a more constructive note.
The British Parliament must still be able to vote on the agreement negotiated with Brussels. The opposition Labor Party announced its support for the Conservative government.
(APA/dpa)