Intensive negotiations on changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol had taken place in recent months. The document, which is part of the Brexit agreement, stipulates that the British province will remain part of the European single market. However, the protocol has not yet been fully implemented.
Von der Leyen and Sunak have now agreed to “personally continue their work at the talks on Monday to find common, practical solutions to the complex challenges associated with the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland,” said the joint statement published on Sunday Explanation.
Sunak’s office later added in a statement of its own that the prime minister and commission president were due to meet for “final talks” at midday in Berkshire, a county west of London. If an agreement is reached, Sunak and von der Leyen would hold a brief joint press conference in the late afternoon, it said. The Prime Minister would then go to Parliament to brief them on the agreement.
Sunak wants to ensure that the envisaged agreement with the EU “ensures the free flow of trade throughout the UK, secures Northern Ireland’s place within the UK and restores sovereignty to the people of Northern Ireland,” the Prime Minister’s office said.
Von der Leyen recently called the talks with Great Britain “very constructive”. British media had reported that an agreement was as good as reached.
On January 31, Great Britain celebrated the third anniversary of its exit from the EU. However, the rule in the Northern Ireland Protocol that the province remains part of the European single market creates a de facto customs border with the rest of Great Britain.
The aim of the regulation was to secure peace in Northern Ireland and at the same time to protect the European internal market. The border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland must remain open under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The agreement ended the three-decade conflict in Northern Ireland.
However, Northern Ireland’s unionists find the protocol unacceptable, fearing for Northern Ireland’s affiliation with the United Kingdom. London had resumed negotiations with Brussels on the protocol, also arguing that the agreement would undermine the movement of goods within the UK.
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