2,440 days since the UK voted to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the much anticipated \u201cWindsor Framework\u201d \u2013 an agreement which looks to reset the UK\/EU trading relationship, underpin the integrity of the European Single Market and crucially, answer the concerns of unionists around a border in the Irish Sea which held back the resumption of power-sharing at Stormont.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s announcement will be hailed in the UK as a political victory for a Prime Minister under pressure. Rishi Sunak has accomplished something which eluded his immediate predecessors \u2013 reaching a new agreement without the need to unilaterally break international law, whilst resetting UK\/EU relations in the process.<\/p>\n
The framework has already received praise from various quarters, with Irish T\u00e1naiste and Foreign Minister Miche\u00e1l Martin TD calling it \u201cvery welcome\u201d, while Northern Ireland Minister and staunch Brexiteer Steve Baker MP said the agreement is \u201cgreat news.” Downing Street will be hoping that d\u00e9tente with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol will unlock progress in other areas, including scientific research funding, co-operation with France on cross-Channel migration and further action to support Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The prospect of agreement is also likely to significantly improve the UK\u2019s relationship with the United States at a critical time for trade negotiations, with President Joe Biden having repeatedly stressed that any efforts from the UK Government to unilaterally amend the Northern Ireland Protocol would not create a conducive environment for a trade deal. The long-rumored state visit of the President to the UK and Ireland in early April, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement, is now more possible.<\/p>\n
While a political victory is in sight for the Prime Minister, the deal must pass through both the UK and European Parliaments. All eyes now are focused on the Democratic Unionist Party\u2019s (DUP) assessment of the deal, and whether the new framework does enough to assuage its concerns around Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK. The DUP has publicly set out seven tests against which it will measure any deal, and its decision making may be affected by issues closer to home, including the potential of it being outflanked to the right by smaller unionist parties in upcoming council elections and the prospect of a DUP Deputy First Minister serving with a Sinn F\u00e9in First Minister in Stormont for the first time if power-sharing is restored.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, a new framework which unites Brussels, London and Dublin is central to the Prime Minister\u2019s attempt to be seen as the details-driven leader his predecessors failed to be. And with business leaders uniting in praise over his efforts to usher in a new era of stability and certainty, Rishi Sunak may look back on the Windsor Framework as the moment which cemented his place as the leader who finally put to bed the recurring nightmare which haunted Cameron, May, Johnson and Truss \u2013 by getting Brexit done.<\/p>\n
Red Lanes & Green Lanes<\/strong> Governance & The ECG<\/strong>
\nGoods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, that are destined to stay within Northern Ireland, can use a \u201cGreen Lane\u201d that requires minimal customs checks. Goods moving through Northern Ireland to enter the EU Single Market will still be required to use a \u201cRed Lane\u201d involving significant checks.<\/p>\n
\nLarge amounts of EU law have been removed from applying in Northern Ireland, reducing the role of the European Courts of Justice (ECJ). Rules in significant areas will therefore be interpreted primarily by Northern Irish and British courts.<\/p>\n