UK to lift border controls in Northern Ireland

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunakand president European Commission (EU), Ursula von der Leyenannounced on Monday a reform agreement Northern Ireland Protocol included in the contract Brexit.

“I am pleased to report that we have made decisive progress. We have changed the protocol and are now announcing a framework agreement Windsor”, said the conservative leader at a joint press conference in the city of Windsor, west of London.

“This framework agreement allows us to open a new chapter in our partnership and find solutions that benefit the people of Northern Ireland,” added the EU President.

Sunak assured that the agreement was reached after many years of negotiations with Brussels by various Conservative governments “offers flexible trading around the world”. Great Britaindefends Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards the sovereignty of the people of Northern Ireland.”

Among the most important changes to the current text, which was signed in 2019 former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, are removed border control between Northern Ireland and the UK for goods destined for the British province only.

These goods will pass through the “green lane” – electronically controlled by the EU, while those sent to Ireland, which remains in the EU and the European single market, will remain in the “red lane” with customs checks. .

This will “remove the feeling of having a border” between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, Sunak argues.

Moreover, he added, parliament autonomous from Belfast better known as Stormont, will be able to apply an “emergency brake against any product rule change” introduced European Union.

“If (Stormont) slows down, the British government will have the right to veto” its implementation, he explained.

Sunak confirmed that “in due course” he will bring the “Windsor Framework Agreement”, which reforms the old protocol, to a vote in Parliament. House of Commons.

He agreed that both some of his Conservative colleagues and trade unionists in Northern Ireland who believe that the Protocol threatens the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom “need space and time” to weigh its content.

Solving the Northern Ireland protocol problem is the latest major stumbling block in the long process of the UK leaving the EU, which began after Brexit’s victory in the 2016 referendum.

He Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar On Monday, he stressed that the agreement is the result of a “long and complex” negotiation process between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Head of government Mr. Dublin, coalition between the Christian Democrats, the Centrists and the Greens, he hopes that the “positive outcome” of the talks to “reach joint solutions” will strengthen relations between the parties after Brexit.

“I want to congratulate both teams for working so hard and conscientiously to get us to this point. I also recognize the role of the parties in Northern Ireland for their constructive engagement,” Varadkar added.

His Deputy Prime Minister Michel Martinalso noted today that the so-called Windsor Protocol Reform Framework Agreement ensures that the British province will benefit from its permanence in the home community and the British market.

“The consensus reached today between the European Union and the United Kingdom will provide stability and the confidence that Northern Ireland needs to keep moving forward,” said number two in the government, which also owns the foreign affairs portfolio.

(EFE)

Source: Aristegui Noticias

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