British prime minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will meet in the UK today to sign a new agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol after months of negotiations.
Focus will immediately switch to the Democratic Unionist Party whose leader Jeffrey Donaldson must now decide if he should back the deal and restore the Stormont powersharing institutions. Mr Donaldson’s spokesman gave no indication last night of his intentions, but it is expected Mr Sunak will press ahead with or without the DUP’s agreement, said sources.
Varadkar reaction
Mr Sunak’s task of securing the acceptance of the deal from hardline Eurosceptics in his party will be made considerably harder if the DUP oppose it, however.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he had been in touch with Ms von der Leyen and “very much” welcomed the news of a meeting.
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[ Analysis: Sunak limbers up for a protocol showdown with Tory EuroscepticsOpens in new window ]
The expectation that a deal was about to be announced grew in London yesterday after Mr Sunak and his ministers went on a media offensive over the weekend, with the prime minister telling the Sunday Times he was “giving it everything” in order to “get the job done”. In other media interventions, Mr Sunak boasted of his Brexiteer credentials and said he wanted to “finish the job” of implementing Brexit.
Sources in Dublin and Brussels said they were on standby for an agreement and confirmation came when Downing Street and the commission said the two leaders would meet to seal an agreement.
It is expected Mr Sunak will seek cabinet approval in the afternoon and make a statement in the House of Commons later.
Northern Ireland Protocol: how close are we to a deal?
Sources with knowledge of briefings in Dublin, Brussels and London say the components of a new agreement on the protocol have been in place for some time and it remains for Mr Sunak to manage the politics in Westminster and Belfast.
That will not be an easy task. Hardliners in his own party insisted that Northern Ireland must be treated the same as any other part of the UK, something the British government has not sought and which would end the North’s dual access to the UK and EU markets. Chairman of the European Research Group of hardline Conservative MPs Mark Francois told Sky News that they wanted “a situation where EU law is expunged from Northern Ireland so it is treated on the same basis as England, Scotland and Wales.”
“We’re not stupid,” he told the broadcaster.
Restoring powersharing
In response to questions from The Irish Times, a spokesman for Mr Donaldson said the “objective in London and Brussels should be to get this right rather than rushed. The wrong deal will not restore powersharing but will deepen division for future generations.”
Mr Donaldson insisted the “seven tests” his party requires to support an overhaul of the current post-Brexit trading arrangements will be “how we will judge any deal between the EU and UK”.
Among the tests, set out in July 2021, is the removal of all checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea as well as the people of Northern Ireland having a say in making the laws that govern them.
“So let’s focus on the prize of a long-lasting solution instead of a short-term fix. The protocol must be replaced by arrangements that restore NI’s place in the UK internal market and our constitutional position must be respected.”
Asked on Sunday if he believed a deal could win the support of the DUP, Tanáiste Micheál Martin replied: “I hope so.”
