The UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is expected to announce details on Wednesday (31 January) of a deal to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland, but the deal will not include any major changes to the Windsor Framework.
Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris told Euractic on Tuesday night that he would “publish details of the proposals made (…) to secure Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market and strengthen the Union.” Ta.
The deal, announced in the early hours of Tuesday, ends almost two years of gridlock in Northern Ireland’s parliament.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Geoffrey Donaldson and the rest of his party were unhappy with the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework, two agreements that govern how goods move between Great Ireland. It had prevented the establishment of a Northern Ireland parliament. The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market after leaving the EU.
The DUP’s main complaint was that the deal, which set out varying levels of border checks for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, created a sense that Northern Ireland was not on equal footing with the rest of the United Kingdom. That was it.
No big changes
Donaldson gave Statement at press conference On Monday night, he hinted at what’s included in the deal.
“We believe this package protects Northern Ireland’s place within the Union and restores Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. It will abolish checks for goods moving within the UK or remaining in Northern Ireland; Northern Ireland will automatically terminate in accordance with future EU law.”
However, experts point out that this package does not significantly change the current conditions of the Windsor framework.
“I can’t imagine there would be much of a difference. [to the Windsor Framework] Because the EU won’t accept it,” Peter McLoughlin, Northern Ireland political expert and senior lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast, told Euractic.
Mr McLoughlin said any substantive changes could upset the EU or ignore the Good Friday Agreement, potentially upsetting the National Party and Sinn Féin.
wait and see
However, the details of the deal were not yet clear, and Mr McLoughlin said a statement from Donaldson and the DUP in the coming days might not provide much clarity.
He added: “The UK government’s actions over the next few days may tell us what the deal will be like.”
In addition to legislation to further reduce checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, Mr McLoughlin expects the legislation from Westminster to symbolically restate the UK’s commitment to union with Northern Ireland.
Criticism of the agreement
Mr. Donaldson’s task, Mr. McLaughlin said, was to present any changes that occurred as “massive.”
“The question is whether Unionists and critics of the deal think this is enough,” he added.
There has also been criticism from opponents of the DUP. Social Democratic Labor Party (SDLP) issued a statement today Although he welcomed the news, he criticized the boycott for threatening the political structure established by the Good Friday Agreement and harming the people of Northern Ireland.
SDLP MP Colum Eastwood said: “Years of stagnation have caused serious damage to the public service, the standing of public sector workers, the health of people who wait unreasonably long for hospital treatment and ultimately undermined the political process. The public’s trust has also been lost.”
McLoughlin added that no agreement is likely to be problem-free. “There is no doubt that Brexit will be massively disruptive,” he said. “There is no ideal trade (policy) other than a return to the EU. Unless we turn back the clock, there will always be friction and problems.”
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
