The dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol is to be settled at the highest level on Monday: EU Commission President von der Leyen will meet Prime Minister Sunak directly to finalize the agreement.
Shortly before an expected agreement in the long dispute over Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, a meeting between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been announced. The two would meet in the UK on Monday, the EU Commission and Sunak’s Downing Street official announced on Sunday evening. The politicians had decided to continue working personally on practical solutions for the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit Treaty. It stipulates that the customs border between Great Britain and the EU runs in the Irish Sea. This was to prevent border controls between British Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland having to be introduced. In this case, it was feared that the conflict about a unification of the two parts of Ireland would flare up again. But the controls are also creating difficulties for intra-British trade, and Union’s Protestant supporters in Northern Ireland feel cut off from Britain.
Crucial to the success of an agreement is therefore whether Sunak will manage to get the largest Protestant Unionist party in Northern Ireland, the DUP, behind him. In protest against the protocol, they have been blocking the formation of a government in the British part of the country for months. In several guest posts and interviews, Sunak has already brought his party, his critics and the British people to an agreement.