Britain is starting its arduous and unpredictable return from Brexit. The UK and EU trade agreement for Northern Ireland has been modified, as agreed to by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This should strengthen ties and allow for closer cooperation with Brussels. The symbolism of his deal is significant, even though further steps forward appear to be much harder.
The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol would eventually need to change. Belfast was bound by the agreement Sunak’s predecessor Boris Johnson reached in 2019 while enabling the rest of Britain to depart from it. Because to this, trade between the province and the UK’s mainland has suffered, and accusations that the Protocol lacks democratic accountability has increased.
The “Windsor Framework,” a solution proposed by Sunak and the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, combines pragmatism and legal deception. By implementing a trusted trader program, which requires less paperwork for products moving only between the UK and Northern Ireland than those going to the Republic of Ireland, the UK can lower trade barriers. The so-called “democratic deficit” in the Protocol will only be somewhat reduced by a clause giving the Northern Irish assembly advisory authority over new EU laws, leaving the European Court of Justice as the final arbiter of EU issues in place. That might still be sufficient to get the support of Sunak’s own party’s hardliners as well as the Democratic Unionist Party of Belfast.
The 96 billion euro Horizon Europe program, which had been slowed down by the dispute, will now be able to work more closely together in sectors like science research thanks to the newfound spirit of cooperation between UK and the EU. Going much further, though, seems difficult. Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer both reject rejoining the EU single market out of concern about losing voters who are against EU immigration.
Johnson’s 2019 trade agreement has room for improvement. Britain may promote the EU’s recognition of its financial services rules and professional degrees, or it could work to ease trade barriers for industrial or agricultural goods. That would necessitate concessions, such the UK adhering to common standards and tightening its compliance with EU regulations, which are unlikely under Sunak’s Conservative Party.
Yet, had there not been an agreement, Britain might have run the prospect of a full-fledged trade war with its greatest trading partner at a time when its economy is having trouble. However, in the long run, economic tendencies may prevail over party politics. Brexit supporters find it more difficult to argue for the advantages of establishing free trade agreements outside of the EU because of the rise of protectionism in global trade, which is exemplified by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Voters can lose interest in their fixation with immigration due to the UK’s labor crisis and poor economic performance. The return route is not guaranteed, but the Northern Ireland agreement’s symbolic value is.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached a fresh agreement on post-Brexit trade regulations for Northern Ireland on February 27. According to Sunak, the agreement ushers in a “new chapter” in the relationship between the UK and the EU.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, which was a component of Boris Johnson’s 2019 Brexit agreement and maintained Belfast’s compliance with EU laws and regulations, will be updated by the so-called Windsor Framework.
When items are not intended for export to the EU, the new framework will eliminate physical checks on commerce between Britain and the province of Northern Ireland, according to Sunak and von der Leyen. The agreement will give Northern Ireland consultation powers on new EU regulations affecting commerce in the province, so addressing the so-called “democratic deficit” caused by the Protocol.
Brexit supporter and Northern Ireland minister in Sunak’s administration Steve Baker called the agreement a “great result” in an interview with Sky News.
