British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, presented this Monday afternoon in Parliament the reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol included in the Brexit agreement that replaces the one negotiated by Boris Johnson three years ago. Before a packed House of Commons, Sunak stressed that it allows British products to be transported to Northern Ireland without the need to pass customs controls, allows the same taxes to be imposed throughout the United Kingdom and gives the Northern Irish government the right to veto any decision imposed by the EU. Well received in the House, Sunak’s new deal will have a direct impact on UK politics:
Governance of Northern Ireland
The main objective of this new agreement is to get it to form again government in Northern Ireland, an executive to be shared between the main unionist party (the Ulster Democratic Party, DUP) and the main Irish republican party (Ourselves). The DUP left the government in February of last year and stated that it would not return until the Brexit protocol was removed and the customs that broke the British internal market. Sinn Féin won the regional elections in May 2022 for the first time, but has not been able to form an Executive due to the unionist blockade. Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, thanked Sunak on Monday for his effort and asked for time to study the legal text well before ruling.
Revolt of the ‘brexiteers’
The question is to know how many conservative deputiesOf the 355 that Sunak has, they are going to rebel against their leader. Sunak hopes to convince the hardest ‘brexiteers’ of his party, those who make up the European Reform Group (ERG). The opposition to Sunak is expected to be led by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The main points of disagreement are the elimination of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by Johnson and which gave the United Kingdom powers to temporarily eliminate European legislation on the border. And the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which will continue to have jurisprudence in the region.
Full implementation of Brexit
Northern Ireland was the last obstacle to be able to sign the Brexit agreement in January 2020 (along with fishing) and it is now the last obstacle to be able to carry it out. The situation in Northern Ireland was very delicate due to the tension between unionists and republicans and because the peace agreements did not allow the installation of a physical border on the island. With this agreement, if it is finally approved, the implementation of Brexit would be completed and the country could definitely begin to outline the new post-Brexit stage.
New era in relations with the EU
So much Ursula von der Leyen as Rishi Sunak agreed this Monday that the handshake they gave is the beginning of a new friendship between the European Union and the United Kingdom after many years of tensions y threats, since the Brexit referendum in June 2016. The tension increased with the arrival of Johnson to power in July 2019. Johnson presented a bill in Parliament that gives the United Kingdom the power to eliminate part of the protocol, a law partially passed in the House and which Sunak will now remove. The EU took the UK to court for breaching international agreements. Sunak and Von der Leyen embodied this new era on Monday, with their words and gestures, and laid the foundations for a future relationship.
Boost to the weakened government of Sunak
This agreement unravels a situation that had been entrenched for three years and gives a big push Rishi Sunak, who was elected prime minister four months ago by his party without popular support at the polls. The first months of his government have been marked by the deep economic crisis in which the country is plunged and by the wave of strikes in the entire British public sector. The elections must be held before December 2024, the Conservatives are well behind in the pollsbut this may be a inflection point for a prime minister who, for the moment, has kept a very low profile.
voting
It is not yet known when the vote will take place in Parliament, but Sunak has stated that it will give plenty of time for the legal text of the Windsor Agreement, as the text is known, can be scrutinized and debated by all parties. The labor opposition He confirmed that he will support the agreement in the national interest. It is expected to pass without a hitch, but Sunak will not go to the vote until he has the backing of the DUP unionists.