EU Feels Sunak Will Be Pragmatic and Agree to Revised Northern Ireland Protocol Deal

UK PM Rishi Sunak and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will meet on Monday to discuss the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which was signed between London and Brussels as part of the UK’s Brexit divorce from the European Union.

If both leaders reach an agreement, they’ll address a joint press conference and announce the aspects of the agreement to the press. There has been opposition to the changes the UK wants to make to these protocols.

A report by the BBC which cited key EU officials said that Sunak and von der Leyen would prefer not to sign the agreement and not go for an agreement that is destined to fail.

When Sunak’s predecessor Boris Johnson signed the NI protocol deal he did not divulge a key detail to the public that under the protocol there would be checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

However, the EU thinks that Sunak is a “practical politician” who focuses on solutions and would go for a revised new deal because he values the UK’s ties with the EU as well as the US. The BBC in its report said that the Biden administration made it clear that any one-sided decision by the UK government on the issue will not help when a trade deal is framed between the UK and the US.

The UK now wants a new protocol under which it wants to create red and green lanes for goods imported from Great Britain into Northern Ireland. Under the previous provisions, checks and inspections were conducted between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland but at Northern Ireland’s ports and not at the Irish border.

It was not necessary to conduct checks earlier because Northern Ireland and Ireland were part of the EU.

The deal also has to cater to the Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who have not joined the devolved government and have led to a stalemate in the Stormont assembly. The deal appeals to Sinn Fein but they still need the DUP to form a government in Northern Ireland.

Most importantly, the deal needs to be signed in a manner that appeals to all parties because the deal must ensure that the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland remains invisible and the Good Friday Agreement aka the Irish Peace Deal remains in place.

The report said that Sunak is keen to do both and also maintain strong ties with the UK’s biggest trade partner, the EU. This could also help in forging a new trade deal between the EU and the UK.

The EU has agreed to reduced checks, placing the ball in UK PM Rishi Sunak and his government’s court.

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