The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a new deal on Monday to address post-Brexit difficulties in Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework includes a new system of green and red lanes for goods, with products coming into Northern Ireland through the green lane experiencing significantly reduced checks and paperwork. Goods at risk of moving onto the EU will be directed to the red lane, and businesses moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain will not be required to complete export declarations.
Bans on certain products, such as chilled sausages, entering Northern Ireland from Britain will be lifted, along with bans on seed potatoes and 11 native British trees. Medicines for use in Northern Ireland will be approved by the UK regulator, with the European Medicines Agency not having any role. Parcels will not be subject to full custom declarations, and from 2024, parcel operators will be required to share data with the EU to manage smuggling risks.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU VAT rules could be applied in Northern Ireland. However, under the new deal, UK VAT and excise rules will apply to Northern Ireland for alcoholic drinks for immediate consumption and immovable goods such as heat pumps, while EU VAT rules will still apply for other items.
The agreement reduces the proportion of EU rules applied in Northern Ireland to less than 3%, and introduces a “Stormont brake” which allows the Northern Ireland Assembly to raise an objection to a new goods rule. The process would be triggered if 30 representatives in the Stormont from two or more parties sign a petition, and the brake cannot be used for “trivial reasons” but reserved for “significantly different” rules. Once the UK tells the EU the brake has been triggered, the rule cannot be implemented unless both parties agree. Disputes will be resolved through independent arbitration, and the EU has its own safeguard, with the power to take “appropriate remedial measures” if Northern Ireland starts to diverge significantly from the bloc’s rules.
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would have given the UK the power to scrap the old protocol deal, has been scrapped. The government confirmed there is “no legal justification” for going ahead with it.
However, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticised the new framework, saying it was “not about taking back control” and that he would find it “very, very difficult” to vote for Mr Sunak’s deal. Despite this, Downing Street has said the prime minister is willing to clarify any “misunderstandings” about how the deal will work.
The Windsor Framework comes after months of talks, and while it has been welcomed by some, including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), others have expressed concern. Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, said the deal provides “greater certainty” for businesses and communities, while DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, welcomed the “positive and significant” changes. However, Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, expressed disappointment, saying the deal “falls short of what was required to protect the Good Friday Agreement, protect peace and stability, and protect our economy”.