Rishi Sunak arrives in Northern Ireland amid rumours Brexit deal is edging closer
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Rishi Sunak is in Northern Ireland to meet Stormont leaders amid growing speculation that a Brexit deal is edging closer.
The prime minister and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will meet the politicians near Belfast amid reports that an agreement between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol could soon be unveiled.
A Number 10 spokesperson said last night: “Whilst talks with the EU are ongoing, ministers continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure any solution fixes the practical problems on the ground, meets our overarching objectives, and safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market.
“The prime minister and secretary of state for Northern Ireland are travelling to Northern Ireland this evening to speak to political parties as part of this engagement process.”
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In another apparent sign of progress, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will travel to Brussels for a meeting with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.
The foreign office said the meeting was part of “ongoing engagement and constructive dialogue with the EU to find practical solutions that work for the people of Northern Ireland”.
Newspaper reports have suggested Mr Sunak could brief his cabinet on the deal and announce it in parliament as soon as Tuesday.
But Michael Martin, the Republic of Ireland’s deputy prime minister, told RTE he thinks “there is a distance to go yet”.
“I don’t understate the challenges, but clearly the negotiations have been serious and substantive and trust has built up between the EU team and the UK team, but I think there is some time to go yet,” he said.
Mr Sunak last visited Northern Ireland in December where he met Stormont party leaders to discuss the protocol.
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The mechanism has left Northern Ireland without a devolved powersharing executive since early last year.
The protocol has overshadowed Northern Irish politics since it was agreed upon as part of the Brexit deal in a bid to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Members of the unionist community are unhappy with the difficulties it creates for trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to cooperate with forming a devolved Executive in Stormont until the issues are resolved.
The UK government says the protocol is not working and wants to override it with new legislation if the EU does not agree to changes – a move Brussels has warned is “illegal and unrealistic”.
However, tensions have cooled in recent months, with both sides pledging to work together to find a way forward.
Last month, the EU and the UK said there was a “new basis” for resolving the Northern Ireland Protocol row after an agreement was reached in sharing trade data.
Mr Cleverly and Mr Heaton-Harris met EU chief negotiator Mr Sefcovic in London as part of continued efforts to find a way forward over post-Brexit arrangements in the region.
The agreement, which will allow the EU to access UK IT system which will provide detailed information about goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, was hailed by both sides as a key step in resolving the deadlock over the protocol.
But, following the meeting in January, the PM’s official spokesperson stressed: “There are still significant issues at the heart of the protocol that need addressing.”
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Calls to end imposition of EU law in NI
Meanwhile, a DUP senior figure has warned that failure to end the imposition of EU law in Northern Ireland in any new UK/EU deal on post-Brexit trade will ensure Stormont’s powersharing impasse continues
The DUP is currently blocking the functioning of the devolved institutions in Belfast in protest at the protocol.
Lord Nigel Dodds, former deputy leader of the DUP, insisted his party would maintain its block on devolution if an agreement falls short of the measures contained within the UK Government’s own stalled draft legislation to unilaterally rip up the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill includes provisions that would remove the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the region.
While it is understood the EU and UK are close to signing off a deal that would reduce protocol red tape on the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, there is no expectation that Brussels is willing to agree to end the application of EU law in the region.
The EU contends that a fundamental plank of the protocol – namely that Northern Ireland traders can sell freely into the European single market – is dependent on the operation of EU rules in the region.
But many senior Conservative MPs also want the oversight of the ECJ removed.
David Jones, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group of the Tory party, tweeted: “The protocol won’t be fixed by displaying green and red signs and pretending the ECJ hasn’t got supreme jurisdiction in Northern Ireland when it manifestly has.
“NI must cease to be subject to laws made in Brussels. It’s as simple as that. Anything less won’t work.”
The prime minister is set to join European leaders in Germany this weekend for the Munich Security Conference and the protocol is likely to feature in discussions.
