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The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) reached an agreement, this Monday (27), to try to resolve the dispute over post-Brexit trade controls in Northern Ireland. The issue has rocked relations between Brussels and London for years and has yet to be fully resolved.
The so-called “Windsor Agreement” is a text negotiated between the United Kingdom and the European Union within the Brexit commitments to avoid weakening the peace treaty concluded in 1998 in Northern Ireland. The objective was to prevent the creation of a land border between the British province and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European bloc.
The agreement concluded on Monday should allow “fluid trade exchanges in the United Kingdom”, celebrated the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. “The cumbersome customs bureaucracy will be removed,” he assured.
Specifically, as soon as it is ratified, the compromise provides that products arriving in Great Britain via Northern Ireland to remain there will no longer be subject to the same controls as goods destined to be subsequently exported to the Republic of Ireland, i.e. to the European Union. The mechanism is valid both for commercial exchanges and for sending correspondence by individuals.
However, some taxes set by London for the UK – such as on alcohol, for example – will apply to Northern Ireland, while restrictions on shipping and selling animals or certain plants will be removed. The UK authorities, and no longer the European Medicines Agency, will issue marketing authorizations for medicines.
a historic deal
Until recently, London and Brussels were at war with each other over the crisis caused by the lack of an agreement on Northern Ireland. On Monday, Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed their optimism about the future of relations between the two parties.
“I think we agree that this agreement is historic,” declared the European leader. For her, the most important thing is that the compromise “protects the hard-won peace thanks to the Belfast Agreement”. Signed in 1998, the treaty – whose 25th anniversary will be celebrated in April – put an end to the conflict between Protestant unionists and Catholic republicans.
Sunak also celebrated the commitment and the opening of a new phase with the block. “It’s the start of a new chapter in our relationship,” he said.
The agreement concluded on Monday modifies the text of Brexit, signed in 2020. Until then, the commitment kept the British province of Northern Ireland as part of the single European market for goods and provided for customs controls on products coming from the United Kingdom. However, the text revolted the North Irish unionists, contrary to customs controls in the Irish Sea, and reject any measure that questions the presence of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
The British government even threatened to unilaterally impose changes to the protocol. The attitude cooled relations between London and Brussels, which had been on the brink of a trade conflict.
Next steps
Sunak must now convince Northern Ireland unionists and members of the British Conservative Party, who were in favor of leaving the economic bloc. However, the text is still not unanimous: one of the most complex topics is about the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) maintaining its role in administering the agreement.
The tension arises because the unionists reject any application of European legislation in the British province and have blocked the functioning of the local Executive for a year. The agreement provides that if 30 MPs from various parties in Northern Ireland object to the province’s application of a new European Goods and Goods Act, they will be able to call a vote to block it.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson said on Twitter that he “will take as much time as necessary to study the details and evaluate the deal.” Donaldson added that while he has seen “significant progress” on several points, there are issues that inspire “concern” such as the role of the EU Court of Justice.
“The CJEU will have the last word on single market issues [europeu] and laws in the EU”, guaranteed Von der Leyen this Monday. Sunak promised that the new agreement will be put to a vote in Parliament “at the right time and the result will be respected”.
In the end, “less than 3%” of European laws will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, argues London.
(RFI with AFP)