A risk taken, UK's Sunak announces the Windsor Framework
Last edited Mon Feb 27, 2023, 08:27 PM - Edit history (4)
Source: Reuters
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Britain's Rishi Sunak took a risk when he decided to hold talks on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland in secret, offering few details beyond reassurance to two political groups which have a history of making life hard for prime ministers.
Sunak saw secrecy as crucial to restoring trust with the European Union after relations were tested to breaking point under predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who took a hard line and were accused of hurting talks by negotiating in public. But it was secrecy that fostered suspicion among two big hitters in the years-long Brexit debate - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party, and the pro-Brexit Conservative European Research Group (ERG).
With both groups saying they will now consider the detail of Monday's deal before offering a verdict, Sunak will hope the changes he has negotiated will overcome the sourness that has coloured the weeks-long build up to what he called a decisive breakthrough with the presentation of the "Windsor Framework". "I am pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough, together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework," Sunak told a news conference.
He said the deal would ease trade between Britain and Northern Ireland, firmly root the province's place in the United Kingdom and give lawmakers there a say in whether they must implement EU law, with London having a veto. "I believe that today's framework addresses them (Northern Ireland's concerns) ... I believe that what we have achieved today is a real breakthrough." The European Commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, described the deal as an historic one which opened a "new chapter" in relations with Britain, praising "dear Rishi's" honesty in his dealings with the bloc.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/risk-taken-uks-sunak-announces-windsor-framework-2023-02-27/
Article updated.
Previous articles/headlines/link -
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a new deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland on Monday, saying it would pave the way for a new chapter in London's relationship with the bloc. Standing alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a news conference in Windsor, Sunak said the two sides had agreed to remove "any sense of a border" between Britain and its province - a situation that had angered politicians on both sides.
He immediately won plaudits from business groups who welcomed the easing of trade rules, and an EU promise that it would be willing to allow British scientists to join its vast research programme if Sunak's party accepts the deal. The agreement marks a high-risk strategy for Sunak just four months after he took office. He is looking to secure improved relations with Brussels - and the United States - without angering the wing of his party most wedded to Brexit.
His success is likely to hinge on whether the deal convinces the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end its boycott of Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements. These were central to the 1998 peace deal known as the Good Friday Agreement which mostly ended three decades of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland.
"I'm pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough," Sunak said of his new "Windsor Framework". "This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship." The issue of Northern Ireland has been one of the most contentious regarding Britain's 2020 departure from the European Union. A return to a hard border between the province and Ireland, an EU member, could have jeopardised the peace deal.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-eu-leaders-meet-monday-finalise-northern-ireland-deal-2023-02-26/
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a new deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland on Monday and said it would pave the way for a new chapter in London's relationship with the bloc.
Standing alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a news conference in Windsor, Sunak said the two sides had agreed to remove "any sense of a border" between Britain and its province - a situation that had angered politicians on both sides. The agreement marks a high-risk strategy for Sunak just four months after he took office. He is looking to secure improved relations with Brussels - and the United States - without angering the wing of his party most wedded to Brexit.
He immediately won plaudits from business groups who welcomed the easing of trade rules, and a promise from von der Leyen that she would be willing to allow British scientists to join a vast EU research programme if Sunak's party accepts the deal. His success is likely to hinge on whether it convinces the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end its boycott of Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements. These were central to the 1998 peace agreement which mostly ended three decades of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland.
"I'm pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough," Sunak said of his new "Windsor Framework". "This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship." The issue has been one of the most contentious regarding Britain's 2020 departure from the European Union. A return to a hard border between the province and Ireland, an EU member, could have jeopardised the peace deal known as the Good Friday Agreement.
Standing alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a news conference in Windsor, Sunak said the two sides had agreed to ease trade rules for the British province and give its lawmakers more control over the laws they have to follow.
"I'm pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough," Sunak said, adding that they had agreed to change the original deal for Northern Ireland, known as the protocol, to create the "New Windsor Framework". "This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship."
The issue has been one of the most contentious regarding Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020. Northern Ireland, a British province, had an open border with Ireland, an EU member. Any return to a hard border could have jeopardised the 1998 peace deal which mostly ended three decades of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland.
Original article/headline -
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a new deal on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, gambling that the reward of better ties with the European Union is worth any discord it might cause within his own party.
A government source said Sunak had agreed the terms with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they met at a hotel west of London. They will hold a joint news conference at 1530 GMT. The agreement marks a high-risk strategy for Sunak who has been looking to secure a compromise and improve relations with Brussels - and the United States - without sufficiently angering the wing of his party most wedded to Brexit.
Sunak's spokesman had earlier told reporters that the two sides were in "final talks and significant progress has been made over a number of weeks and months". The deal seeks to resolve tensions caused by the 2020 post-Brexit arrangements governing Northern Ireland, a British province, and its open border with EU member Ireland.
It remains to be seen, though, whether it will go far enough to end political deadlock in Northern Ireland and satisfy critics in Britain and the province. The new agreement is expected to ease physical checks on goods flowing from Britain to Northern Ireland, and give the province's lawmakers a say over the EU rules it has to implement under the complicated terms of Britain's exit from the bloc.
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and I expect being forced to renegotiate all those trade agreements between the UK and the EU country consortium that they left, is probably even worse (especially now being on the 3rd PM in the past couple years). We can thank Bannon for some of that mess. 
"under sea". 
I remember the occasional articles during the construction when the writers whipped out some of the historic political cartoons that reflected the fear of invasions between the 2 countries if the tunnel ever came into existence!
But in existence it came anyway!
