Brexit deal – latest news: No 10 suggests no changes can be made to Windsor Agreement

‘We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland’, says Downing Street

What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and how does it affect the UK?

There is no room for any changes to be made to the new Brexit deal, No 10 has indicated following the announcement of the “historic” agreement.

Asked if Rishi Sunak might return to Brussels to ask for any changes requested by the DUP, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Certainly I think you heard the prime minister asked similar questions today. We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland.

“We stand ready to have further talks with those parties if they have questions about how it works in practice, indeed, we did a great deal of that in the run up to this announcement.”

Mr Sunak travelled to Northern Ireland after securing a deal with the EU that he promised would be a “turning point” for the region after years of post-Brexit tensions.

The so-called Windsor Framework was earlier hailed as “historic” by the European Commission president, who insisted the deal marked a “new chapter” in UK-EU relations at a press conference with the prime minister.

Key Points

• Sunak says ‘breakthrough’ Brexit deal marks ‘new way forward'
• New deal ‘removes any sense of border in Irish Sea’, insists PM
• Agreement to create ‘green’ and ‘red’ lanes for goods entering NI
• ‘Stormont brake’ will place Northern Ireland in ‘control of their destiny’, says Sunak
• King meets von der Leyen for tea at Windsor Castle

[28 February 2023 05:00 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

EU chief hails ‘new chapter’ in UK relations

Rishi Sunak and the EU president Ursula von der Leyen have ushered in a new era in UK-EU relations as they struck a historic post-Brexit deal.

Unveiling the Windsor Framework, Mr Sunak said it was a “major breakthrough” that would solve the long-running problem of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The EU chief also hailed the deal as a “new chapter” as she outlined plans for the UK to join the bloc’s £80bn Horizon science research programme.

Kate Devlin and Adam Forrest report.

[28 February 2023 04:30 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Pelosi says US proud of its role in establishing Good Friday Agreement

Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said the agreement between the EU and Britain on the Windsor Framework was “good news”.

“The Windsor Framework must support the Good Friday Agreement, be acceptable to the people of Northern Ireland, and improve the British-Irish partnership,” she said in a statement.

“The United States is very proud of the role our leaders played in establishing the Good Friday Agreement, a pillar of our foreign policy – and we salute those who worked so hard to end the impasse a quarter-century ago.”

[28 February 2023 04:00 · Katy Clifton]

When do the changes take effect?

The Prime Minister said that the new agreement would make a difference “almost immediately”, but it does seem that at least some of the changes will gradually come into effect at various times.

For instance, new arrangements for post and parcels will take effect from September 2024 – while some of the exact details around the implementation of the Stormont “brake” are still to be worked out.

But Downing Street has been clear that significant parts of the deal can be introduced even without Stormont returning immediately.

[28 February 2023 03:01 · Katy Clifton]

What is the role of the European Court of Justice under the agreement?

It had been expected that both the UK and the EU would try to find a way around the difficult role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Concerns about the oversight role of the court have been raised by the DUP and some Tory backbenchers, with the issue less about trade and more about sovereignty.

The ECJ had been final arbitrator of EU law issues in the region, given the fact that Northern Ireland essentially remains within the single market for goods.

The Government believes that the agreement significantly narrows the role of the ECJ, with a new approach set to address some of the concerns of a democratic deficit for Northern Irish representatives in the application of EU law.

That arrangement, dubbed the “Stormont brake”, is described in the agreement as giving Stormont a “genuine and powerful role” in deciding whether significant new rules on goods impacting life in the region will apply. It is set to function along the same lines as the Good Friday Agreement safeguard of the petition of concern.

Under that Stormont arrangement, 30 MLA signatures are needed to secure a valid petition, which then triggers a vote that requires a majority of both nationalist and unionist MLAs to pass.

It remains to be seen how the arrangement will be introduced into the Stormont institutions, if powersharing does return, but Downing Street has been clear that once triggered the brake will give the Government the power to veto any new or amended EU rule

[28 February 2023 02:00 · Katy Clifton]

Six key takeaways from the NI deal

Rishi Sunak’s deal is designed to cut bureaucracy and dysfunction between Britain and Northern Ireland following Brexit.

The 26-page “Windsor Framework” lays out the plans for trade, movement of goods and future legislation.

Below, Joe Sommerlad takes a look at the six key takeaways from the deal:

[28 February 2023 00:01 · Katy Clifton]

‘Now is the time to protect the hard-earned gains of the Agreement’

In Washington, Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard E. Neal said he appreciates the “compromise by both sides” to find common ground.

He said: “The agreement is the result of constructive, continued engagement by the EU and the UK in search of joint solutions.

“I appreciate the steadfast commitment and compromise by both sides to find common ground to resolve the trade frictions related to the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, now is the time to protect the hard-earned gains of the Agreement, and to deepen EU-UK cooperation and partnership for generations to come.”

[27 February 2023 22:37 · Katy Clifton]

US President Joe Biden has called the Windsor Framework agreement between the UK and European Union an “essential step to ensuring that the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is preserved and strengthened”.

In a statement, Mr Biden said: “I appreciate the efforts of the leaders and officials on all sides who worked tirelessly to find a way forward that protects Northern Ireland’s place within the UK’s internal market as well as the EU’s single market, to the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland.

“I am confident the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities created by this stability and certainty, and the United States stands ready to support the region’s vast economic potential.

“Joe Kennedy, our new Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, will drive this effort in close cooperation with Ambassador Jane Hartley in London and Ambassador Claire Cronin in Dublin, as well as with business leaders in Northern Ireland.

“Northern Ireland can accomplish the extraordinary when its leaders work together in common cause. And I hope – as we all do – that Northern Ireland’s political institutions are soon back up and running. Those institutions embody the principle of devolved, powersharing, representative government at the core of the Good Friday Agreement.”

[27 February 2023 22:30 · Katy Clifton]

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said he believes the agreement secures Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.

Responding to DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in the Commons, Mr Sunak referenced concerns some in the unionist community had with the protocol, and said: “I believe very strongly that the Windsor Framework does resolve those issues.

“But I appreciate that the right honourable gentleman and his party and other unionist communities will want to take the time to consider the detail.

“And I respect that, and we will give them the time and the space to consider that, and stand ready to answer any questions and provide any clarifications.”

He added: “I believe that this agreement… does ensure the free flow of trade within our United Kingdom internal market, including unfettered access for Northern Ireland producers to the rest of the United Kingdom. I do believe it secures Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.”

Mr Sunak said: “It ensures and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.”

[27 February 2023 21:45 · Katy Clifton]

PM congratulated for ‘phenomenal focus’

Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis earlier congratulated the prime minister “for the phenomenal focus that they are putting in to ensuring that we can secure a deal that we all I know will hope can restore powersharing in Stormont”.

He said: “For many businesses it was the administrative burden of moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, not just regulatory, that needed to be removed, to allow them to see it as an economic benefit and therefore protect the structure, the integrity of the UK internal market.”

Rishi Sunak replied: “I’m confident that with the new green lane based on using existing ordinary commercial data and data sharing in place of the bureaucratic custom arrangements that were there hitherto, it is an enormous step forward.”

(PRU/AFP via Getty Images)

[27 February 2023 21:00 · Katy Clifton]

No timeline for when MPs will have their say

Earlier in the Commons, Rishi Sunak would not be drawn on when parliament would have a say on the agreement.

Conservative MP Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said: “Whilst respecting entirely and agreeing… that parties, particularly those in Northern Ireland, need the time and space to study the detail and to work out all of the implications for those in Northern Ireland, Northern Irish business wants and the good people of Northern Ireland most certainly deserve quick certainty.

“So if there are to be votes in this place on any element of the Windsor Framework as announced today, can my right honourable friend commit to ensuring that those votes take place speedily in order to ensure that certainty and peace of mind?”

Mr Sunak said: “Parliament will of course have its say and there will be a vote. But we will need to do that at the appropriate time as we give people the time and space to consider the detail.”

The Prime Minister said the agreement “can start providing that certainty, and those benefits, to the people and communities of Northern Ireland very soon”, and said “we want to start delivering those benefits for people on the ground as quickly as we can”.