A deal with the European Union over trade barriers in Northern Ireland could be struck in the coming days, deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said.
(Bloomberg) —
A deal with the European Union over trade barriers in Northern Ireland could be struck in the coming days, deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said.
“Hopefully there’ll be good news in a matter of days, not weeks.” Raab said in an interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday. “We are not there yet. But we are obviously in a position where we are on the cusp of a deal.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he’s determined to get a deal done, but wouldn’t sign on to a plan that doesn’t resolve lingering problems from the original Brexit deal.
Sunak is holding talks through the weekend with cabinet ministers, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, as he seeks to resolve an impasse over the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol that governs the region’s post-Brexit trade, people familiar with the matter said. A deal could be announced this week, the people said.
“My job is to seize this opportunity, confront the hard choices, and give everything I’ve got,” Sunak wrote in an opinion piece in the Telegraph. “And I promise you this: I won’t agree any deal which doesn’t fix the problems and deliver for Northern Ireland and our precious Union.”
Read More: Rishi Sunak Faces Brexit Hell in Showdown With UK Hardliners
In his op-ed, Sunak laid out three main issues that need to be resolved:
- Trade must be able to flow freely within the UK’s internal market, including Northern Ireland, which shares an island with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member.
- Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom must be respected.
- The EU must not be allowed to impose new laws and regulations on Northern Ireland without the consent of its people and institutions.
Sunak is attempting to end a standoff with the EU that’s poisoned relations with Britain’s biggest trading partner since it left the bloc three years ago.
But in doing so, he’s likely to face criticism from unionists and Tory Brexiteers that the new deal would maintain EU law and a role for the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, something the rebels say threatens the region’s place in the UK.
When questioned on the role of the ECJ on Sunday, Raab said that “if we can scale back some of the regulatory checks that apply, and some of the paperwork that applies, that would in itself involve a substantial scaling back of the role of the ECJ.”
Parliament would “have its say” on any deal that Sunak reaches with the EU, Raab said when asked whether the plan would be put to a vote. A growing number of Tories have been speaking out against the plan, which could force Sunak to rely on support from the opposition Labour Party to secure its passage if it went to a vote.
Raab was also asked about the ongoing investigation over allegations of bullying, and what he would do if complaints were upheld. “I behaved professionally throughout,” Raab said. “If an allegation of bullying is upheld I would resign.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.