The Tory Government have u-turned on how to negotiate Brexit; it seems that negotiation in good faith works. The UK Government and the EU have agreed on revising the Northern Ireland Protocol which dealt with issues relating to Northern Ireland’s trade with the EU and Great Britain. This agreement is being called in the short-term the Windsor framework.
In summary, goods not destined to be moved from Northern Ireland will not be checked, creating a green lane entry. The ECJ remains the ultimate arbiter of EU law even that which applies to Northern Ireland although the Future Trade & Co-operation treaty structures will act as a gateway and the Stormont assembly have been given a dual key brake which is claimed to give the Unionists (and the Nationalists) the ability to veto EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland. In the latter case, the devil is in the detail. Steve Peers has a detailed breakdown of the terms of the revised treaty.The UK Government have agreed to withdraw the Bill that would enact the revocation of the Northern Ireland protocol, and the EU have agreed to drop their legal counter action.
Sunak hails this as a great victory, claiming that Northern Ireland is unique in that it’s in both the UK and EU, and that is attractive to investors. Others were quick to point out that the whole of the UK was in that position until recently. He also claimed…
