A new deal aimed at easing post-Brexit trade tensions in
Northern Ireland was formally adopted on Friday by the United
Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), the parties announced in
a joint statement, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission
Vice President Maros Sefcovic signed off the deal during their
meeting in London. According to their joint statement, both the UK
and the EU had taken a “positive approach” and “reaffirmed their
intent” to use the framework to resolve any future trade
issues.
The content of the new deal, dubbed the “Windsor Framework,” was
finalized in late February after long negotiations. It aims to
resolve the trading issues created by its predecessor, the Northern
Ireland Protocol, which imposed border checks on British goods
arriving in Northern Ireland.
As a central element of the new deal, the “Stormont Brake” —
taking on the Irish name of the Northern Ireland Assembly — is
intended to give Northern Ireland’s lawmakers more say over EU
rules set to apply in the region.
While Northern Ireland’s political parties broadly support the
framework, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has questioned how
the “Stormont Brake” will operate. As a sign of protest, the party
has refused to join the power-sharing government at the Stormont
for over a year, undermining political stability.
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