Home » Reached a new Northern Ireland trade agreement with the European Union The most difficult issue after Brexit is finally resolved | UK | European Union | Northern Ireland | Windsor Framework | Agreement | Brexit |

Reached a new Northern Ireland trade agreement with the European Union The most difficult issue after Brexit is finally resolved | UK | European Union | Northern Ireland | Windsor Framework | Agreement | Brexit |

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Reached a new Northern Ireland trade agreement with the European Union The most difficult issue after Brexit is finally resolved | UK | European Union | Northern Ireland | Windsor Framework | Agreement | Brexit |

[Voice of Hope, March 26, 2023](comprehensive report by our reporter Tang Zhongbao) The United Kingdom and the European Union have formally signed a new agreement on Northern Ireland trade arrangements. The new agreement stipulates that a “green” corridor will be created to exempt goods from other parts of the UK, but these goods should remain in Northern Ireland and not be diverted to Ireland or the European Common Market. This means that the most thorny historical issues left over from Britain’s “Brexit” have finally been resolved. The British government said that once the agreement is formally ratified, it will start implementing it immediately.

According to comprehensive media reports, on March 24 local time, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič signed the “Committee Agreement” at the joint committee meeting held in London. Windsor Framework agreement (Windsor Framework). The agreement had previously been approved by lawmakers from both sides.

The deal between the UK and the EU aims to avoid a hard land border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, which could undermine a 1998 peace deal between the two sides after a bloody 30-year war – “The Good Friday Agreement”.

The new framework provides for the creation of a “green” corridor, exempting goods from other parts of the UK from checks, but which are supposed to remain in Northern Ireland and not be diverted to Ireland or the European Common Market.

In the agreement, a clause named “Stormont Brake” (Stormont Brake), named after the seat of the local council in Northern Ireland, will allow the local council of Northern Ireland to prevent any new EU laws from entering into force in the area. 515 MPs support it, while 29 MPs oppose it.

The “Stormont brake mechanism” is regarded as a key part of the “Windsor Framework” agreement. The so-called “Stormont brake mechanism” means that if one-third of the members of the Northern Ireland local council support it, “under extremely special circumstances”, the UK has the right to prevent the new EU regulations from being applied to the trade of goods in Northern Ireland.

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According to Reuters’ previous report citing a British government document, “Once the British side notifies the EU that the brakes have been activated, the effectiveness of the regulations involved will be automatically suspended immediately.” After the consultation mechanism reaches an agreement, the relevant regulations can be applied to the Northern Ireland region.

British government documents said this would give the UK a “clear veto”. Any future trade disputes will be resolved by a third-party arbitration institution in accordance with international law, not EU law.

Cleverley said ahead of the meeting: “By formally signing the ‘Windsor Framework’ we have delivered on our commitment to bring more stability and certainty to Northern Ireland.” Ireland is the best deal to be able to maintain its position in the EU.

During a visit to the RAF Valley in Anglesey, north Wales, on the evening, Sunak praised the “incredibly strong support” of MPs for his deal, saying “it’s a good news for the people, families and businesses of Northern Ireland”. protocol”.

Meanwhile, Sunak’s government officials welcomed the vote. Chris Heaton-Harris, UK minister for Northern Ireland, tweeted: “The ‘Stormont brake’ is at the heart of the ‘Windsor Framework’ which protects Northern Ireland’s place in the EU , and address the vast discrepancy between political governance and public opinion”. Conservative MP Julian Smith, a former Northern Ireland minister, said it marked the “final chapter” in the Brexit battle in parliament.

The British government stated that once the “Windsor Framework” agreement is signed, the UK will begin the process of implementing the framework.

New deal strengthens PM’s leverage in upcoming general election

Judging from the results of the vote on the 22nd, the agreement reached by the Conservative Party government led by Sunak won the support of the Labor Party and other opposition parties, but failed to win Sunak’s “most wanted person” – the “Democratic Union Party” of Northern Ireland (DUP), some conservative Eurosceptics in the European Research Group (ERG), and his two Conservative predecessors, Boris Johnson and Elizabeth Truss, all voted voted against.

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The hard-line “Eurosceptic” faction of the Conservative Party believes that the “Windsor Framework” is an “over-hyped” agreement, and the so-called “Stormont brake mechanism” is actually invalid, “the brakes have no brake pads at all.” The “Democratic Unionist Party” is concerned that this mechanism can only constrain new EU regulations and does not apply to current EU regulations, which means that trade in goods in Northern Ireland is still subject to EU regulations.

According to reports, the issue of Northern Ireland’s trade status is considered to be one of the most complicated issues in all post-Brexit negotiations with the EU, and its dangerous political and historical burden often raises concerns about the escalation of the situation on the island of Ireland. On the one hand, considering the historical disputes with Ireland, Northern Ireland needs to continue to abide by the relevant EU trade rules and avoid a “hard border” in the island of Ireland, so as to maintain the long-term peace and stability of the island of Ireland. But on the other hand, it is also necessary to ensure smooth trade exchanges between Northern Ireland and the British Isle of Great Britain.

In order to solve the issue of Northern Ireland after “Brexit”, former British Prime Minister Johnson signed the “Northern Ireland Protocol” (Northern Ireland Protocol) with the European Union during his administration. This protocol is part of the “Brexit” agreement. effective date. According to the protocol, in order to protect the integrity of the EU single market, the Northern Ireland region remains within the EU single market and the customs union, and trade between the Northern Ireland region and the EU is still protected by the EU’s customs regulations to prevent landslides in the island of Ireland. On the “hard border”. However, what the Johnson government has not resolved is that the protocol has formed a “new border” between the British Isle of Great Britain and the Northern Ireland region, and some commodities entering the Northern Ireland region from the British Isle of Great Britain need to be inspected at the port. The British government has not fully implemented the agreement due to the trade obstacles brought about by the agreement. It has continuously complained that the agreement is rigid and interferes with trade in Northern Ireland. Hard-liners in the “Brexit” have criticized the protocol for damaging British sovereignty.

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Since then, the high-level leaders of the UK and Europe have gone through many rounds of “tearing” around the Northern Ireland issue, and recently released a signal that the negotiations are about to be concluded.

According to the British “Guardian” (The Guardian) report, on February 27, European Commission (European Commission) President Ursula von der Leyen (Ursula von der Leyen) visited Windsor, England to meet with Sunak. Subsequently, the two sides announced at a press conference that they had reached a “Windsor Framework” agreement that would allow the UK and Europe to open a “new chapter” to replace the previous “Northern Ireland Protocol”.

The British Prime Minister’s Office said it had prompted the EU to make “significant concessions”. “There hasn’t been a prime minister since 2016 who has managed to negotiate such a good deal,” said Dominic Raab, deputy prime minister and justice secretary. Surprised, he said that Sunak “got a better deal than his predecessor”.

The New York Times commented that the passage of this mechanism means that the most difficult historical issues after Brexit have been resolved.

“Guardian” commentator Jessica Elgot (Jessica Elgot) analyzed that the new agreement won the trust of Conservative Party skeptics for Sunak and supported his “Windsor Framework”, which strengthened the Prime Minister’s upcoming chips for the upcoming general election.

Responsible editor: Changqing

This article or program is edited and produced by Voice of Hope. Please indicate Voice of Hope and include the original title and link when reprinting.

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