The United Kingdom and the European Union have formally signed a new agreement on Northern Ireland, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The United Kingdom and the European Union have formally signed a new agreement on Northern Ireland, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Friday.
In late February, the EU and the UK reached an agreement called Windsor Framework in order to resolve the outstanding issues with the previous agreement, including the checks imposed on UK goods arriving in Northern Ireland. The pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposed the move.
"We've formally adopted the Windsor Framework. This delivers on our commitment to the people of Northern Ireland," Cleverly said on Twitter.
The agreement was signed earlier in the day by Cleverly and Vice-President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic in London.
This step follows a vote in the House of Commons, where the lawmakers overwhelmingly supported legislation on the so-called "Stormont brake" within the Windsor Framework agreement. This is a mechanism that provides the Northern Ireland Assembly with the power to object to changes in EU rules, which was agreed as part of the framework.
Last year, the government of Boris Johnson introduced a bill unilaterally revising the provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol, arguing that the deal was not working. In response, the EU mounted legal action against London over the alleged violation of the Brexit deal. This remained a hot-button issue even after Johnson's departure from 10 Downing Street, as both Sunak and former Prime Minister Liz Truss struggled to arrive at a conclusion that would assuage the protocol's critics at home without jeopardizing relations with Brussels as well as Washington, which also criticized London's efforts to override the protocol.
