UK Government deal restoring Northern Ireland power sharing 'right for Union'
The UK Government has published the deal between it and the Democratic Unionist Party on post-Brexit checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland which put power sharing in storage for the past two years.
Legislation is expected to pass on Thursday with preparations underway to have an Assembly sitting as early as Friday or Saturday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said "significant steps" had been taken by the DUP to endorse the deal. During Prime Minister's Questions he also thanked the other parties for their patience during his government's negotiations with the DUP.
He said the prospect of a resumption of power sharing offered a "brighter future."
The deal was published at lunchtime on Wednesday - and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris delivering a statement in the Commons.
Mr Heaton Harris said the deal was the "right one for Northern Ireland and the Union".
He said: "Only yesterday we saw how quickly progress has been made with a joint legal solution reached with the European Union on tariff rate quotas. “This solution, to be taken forward at the next UK-EU joint committee, would ensure that Northern Ireland traders can benefit from the UK’s independent free trade policy when importing agri-food goods, reflecting Northern Ireland’s integral place in the UK customs territory.” Mr Heaton-Harris said an independent monitoring panel would ensure a “pragmatic and practical approach without gold plating”. He said the deal will “recognise the importance of the connections across the United Kingdom now and in the future”, with a new UK east-west economic council bringing businesses and ministers together to “identify the opportunities that unite us across all parts of the United Kingdom”.
Mr Heaton-Harris said Intertrade UK will be established to promote and facilitate trade within the United Kingdom. He also told MPs: “This deal will help put Northern Ireland’s public services on a sustainable footing with funding totalling over £3 billion to support public services in Northern Ireland, providing a solid foundation for the executive to deliver better outcomes in the day-to-day lives of the people of Northern Ireland.”
On plans to ensure Northern Ireland is no longer automatically aligned with EU law, Chris Heaton-Harris added: “We will also futureproof Northern Ireland’s position within the UK’s internal market against any future protocol that would create a new EU law alignment for Northern Ireland, and with it barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.” The Northern Ireland Secretary had earlier paid tribute to the patience of different political leaders amid negotiations. He said: “For the last few months my team and I have been holding discussions with the Northern Ireland political parties on how we could see the return of devolved institutions. “Those discussions have been long and necessarily tough. “But this is a testament to the patience of all Northern Ireland’s political leaders who, as I have seen first hand, work tirelessly to make sure that Northern Ireland is the most prosperous and safe society that it can be.”
Downing Street has said that the deal with the Democratic Unionist Party contains “significant” changes to the Windsor Framework’s operation. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is our negotiation between the UK and the DUP, this is not about altering the fundamentals of the Windsor Framework. “We do believe the changes we are implementing are significant and the DUP have made similar comments.” Pressed on the “significant” changes, he said that they were to the “operation of the framework”. He declined to say whether talks have been held with the EU, saying he would not discuss “private conversations”. He added: “It’s important to make clear that this was a negotiation between the UK and the DUP about ensuring the framework operates properly within the UK.”
What is in the Command Paper
The command paper published by the government is titled Safeguarding The Union. It commits to replacing the green lane, which currently requires a percentage of goods to be checked, with a “UK internal market system” that will govern the movement of goods that will remain within the UK. The paper said that would ensure there will be “no checks when goods move within the UK internal market system save those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks”. The paper adds: “This will ensure the smooth flow of goods that are moving within the UK internal market.” The red lane for transporting goods from GB to NI and on into the EU Single Market will remain, but the command paper offers measures aimed at reducing the volume of trade required to use that red-tape heavy route. The move to reduce post-Brexit checks on GB-NI trade would represent a change to the current EU/UK Windsor Framework agreement and therefore would require Brussels approval.
It is understood decisions on implementing the changes are expected to be examined within the existing EU/UK joint committee framework in the time ahead.
As well as moves to cut Brexit bureaucracy on Irish Sea trade, the command papers includes a series of measures aimed at providing assurances around Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the United Kingdom. Legislation will be tabled with the purpose of “affirming Northern Ireland’s constitutional status underpinned by, among other provisions, the Acts of Union.” The paper said: “The legislation will affirm Parliament’s sovereignty over all matters in Northern Ireland, and address the concern that Northern Ireland’s constitutional position in the Union has been weakened by the creation of specific arrangements for trade in goods.” The government has also pledged to amend domestic law, specifically section 7A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, to affirm the fact that new EU laws will not automatically apply in Northern Ireland, and must first be subject to democratic oversight by the Stormont Assembly. The oversight procedures already outlined in the Windsor Framework include the so-called Stormont brake mechanism that enables 30 or more MLAs to flag a concern about a new EU law planned to come into effect in Northern Ireland. The Government is obliged to assess whether those concerns meet a threshold that could then result in the UK vetoing the application of the law in the region.
EU law alignment would no longer automatically apply in Northern Ireland under the government’s plans to revive Stormont, Chris Heaton-Harris told the Commons. The Northern Ireland Secretary said: “I am also pleased now to be able to outline today the package of measures we are announcing, which has four key elements. “First, it further protects Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom by demonstrating our commitment to restoring power sharing so it has the broadest support from across the community in Northern Ireland.” He added: “I have always believed that making Northern Ireland work, indeed making Northern Ireland thrive, is the surest way to safeguard the Union. I commend all unionists for taking bold steps to make that case for the Union too. “We will also legislate to reaffirm Northern Ireland’s constitutional status including as reflected in the Acts of Union, so too will we recognise in domestic law through the vital democratic safeguard of the Stormont brake that a new assembly would wield the idea of automatic and permanent dynamic alignment with EU law no longer applies.”
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The command paper also includes commitments to ensure Northern Ireland goods will always be able to be sold in the GB market regardless of any divergence in EU and UK standards. In respect of further UK divergence from EU standards, there is also a legal requirement that new legislation is assessed as to whether it “impacts on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain”. If it does there will be a statutory duty for the relevant minister to make a statement “considering any impacts on the operation of Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market”. A requirement that saw certain goods sold in Northern Ireland to display a label stating “not for sale in the EU” will now to extend to cover the whole UK. The government is also creating two new bodies. An UK East-West Council will bring together representatives from government, business and the education sector from Northern Ireland and Great Britain to “identify opportunities for deepening connections between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in areas such as trade, transport, education and culture”. Intertrade UK will promote trade within the UK. Among its roles will be to proactively communicate with businesses that currently choose not to sell products in Northern Ireland and identify solutions that could enable them to expand their services to the region.