The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel to London this Monday to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the hope of reaching an agreement on the protocol for Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement released this Sunday, the two “agreed to continue their personal work for practical and shared solutions to a number of complex challenges surrounding the protocol.”
The meeting takes place in Berkshire, west of London, where Windsor Castle is located, and von der Leyen can meet King Charles III if there is an agreement.
The controversial protocol was signed in 2020 by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the sidelines of the Brexit deal, and aimed to avoid a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This implied that the British province continued to follow some European Union (EU) rules to avoid border control of goods. But in practice it created that control between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
A nightmare for trade unionists, with the rejection of the DUP party after elections in the region in May reached a government deal with Sinn Féin nationalists winning for the first time. Under the Good Friday Agreements of 1998, which brought peace to Northern Ireland, both must share executive power.
Sunak wants to resolve the situation, after he has been negotiating the protocol with Brussels since October. There will be a deal – which was expected this weekend – but the British Prime Minister knows that if he gives in too much to the EU, he will face not only the DUP, but also members of his own party who advocate Brexit more radical.
On Wednesday, Sunak told delegates they will have a say in the deal. Despite the Conservative majority in parliament, this could be a nightmare for the Prime Minister – who could see the deal go through with Labor backing after Labor leader Keir Starmer said his party would support whatever is decided with Brussels.
The London proposal will have two corridors for goods traveling to Northern Ireland from England, Scotland or Wales. A green one for those who remain in that territory, and do not need to be inspected, and a red one for those destined for the Republic of Ireland or the rest of the EU. There will be more changes, notably in the role of the European Court of Justice.
Source: DN
