Three years and almost a month after the entry into force of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, the result of an agreement between the government led by Boris Johnson and the Presidents of the Council and Commission, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, will know the same a second life under the name of the Windsor Accord. The aim is to end the restrictions the Northern Irish are exposed to on a daily basis and end the current democratic deficit in the British province, while turning a page of tense relations between London and Brussels. “A decisive breakthrough after weeks of negotiations,” said the British Prime Minister.
Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen understood that, as with any complex negotiation that more often than not focuses on hot political issues like Northern Ireland, both sides have to concede something. The German leader traveled to Windsor, symbol of British sovereignty, and offered a straight forward version of the protocol so that basic goods such as food and medicines could be shipped to Northern Ireland from London, Edinburgh or Cardiff without going through customs. – the formula to avoid a physical border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, while respecting the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, which will be 25 years old in April.
In return, the EU gets access to the UK’s customs databases and the computer systems that record the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK government is dropping the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Act, which would have allowed the government to act in breach of the Brussels deal – and as a result, the EU’s seven legal actions against the UK government will also be void. The Court of Justice of the EU remains competent for possible trade disputes, which are seen by unionist and conservative sectors as an invasion of sovereignty.
On the other hand, the Parliament of Northern Ireland now has the option to activate the “brake of Stormont” (as the local assembly is called, next to the castle of the same name). That means 30 MEPs from Northern Ireland, a third of the total, can call for an end to the application of new European standards “which could have a significant and lasting impact” on everyday life. life and, if the initiative is approved by the Northern Ireland Parliament, the British government can activate this veto, which the Court of Justice of the EU no longer has jurisdiction to do.
As the culmination of this operation, the President of the Commission was received by King Charles III at Windsor Castle. Unionists and Eurosceptics criticized the meeting for allegedly questioning the monarch’s political neutrality.
Sunak then went to parliament to explain some details of the Windsor Accord, which will be put to a vote – although technically not binding – and immediately gained the backing of opposition leader Keir Starmer, as well as former Prime Minister Theresa May. The head of government said he would give union members “time and space” to study the deal. However, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said “fundamental concerns remain”.
The party boycotted the Belfast government and assembly for a year in protest at the protocol. The out-of-office elected head of government, Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin, welcomed the agreement and called on the DUP to end what Sunak characterized as a “democratic deficit” in the province.
Source: DN
