Almost exactly two years since the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ended the power-sharing agreement in the Northern Ireland Assembly, it has indicated that a deal has been agreed with the UK Government so that devolved government can be restored.
The DUP walked out of Stormont in protest at provisions in the Northern Ireland Protocol which, it claimed, weakened the links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by imposing border checks in the Irish Sea.
The adoption of the Windsor Framework failed to satisfy the unionists but the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, has indicated that members could return to Stormont in early February if Westminster politicians fulfil their side of the agreement.
Sir Jeffrey has said that the agreement involves “zero checks” on goods moving within the UK. At the moment, 10% of food consignments going through the green lane on the way from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are subject to “identity checks” with that percentage due to be reduced to 5% by July 2025.
Although neither the DUP nor the UK Government mentioned the fact that any change would involve discussions with the EU, these have clearly been going on behind the scenes.
On the same day Sir Jeffrey released his statement, the European Commission adopted a proposal (which can be found here) “setting out a new EU–UK joint solution under the Windsor Framework regarding the use of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) by Northern Ireland businesses”.
There have also been press reports suggesting that the UK Government is prepared to introduce a new requirement that all new UK laws are “screened” to ensure they will not increase the impact of the sea border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
According to these reports, all legislation would have to be accompanied by a ministerial statement confirming it did not have a “significant adverse impact” on internal UK trade.
