London (EFE).- The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, receives this Monday the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von de Leyen, outside London to try to close an agreement on the controversial protocol of Northern Ireland North of Brexit, after months of intense negotiations.
Sunak is expected to meet Von de Leyen around midday in Berkshire County, amid growing expectations that this deal will be finalized to resolve customs and political issues between the island of Great Britain and the province of Ireland. from North.
According to British government sources, the two politicians hope to address complex “challenges” over the protocol before they can sign the deal and make it public.
In the event that the pact is closed this Monday, as expected, the British Prime Minister and the President of the EC will offer a press conference to give details of it.
Subsequently, and once his Government was informed, Sunak would make a statement in the House of Commons to explain the details of the agreement to all members of this Lower House.
Criticism among unionists of the Northern Irish protocol
In a statement to the Express newspaper, the British Prime Minister has assured that his goal is for Brexit to “work for everyone” and solve “the problems” so that Northern Ireland is “in control of its own destiny.”
Under the current protocol, Northern Ireland falls within the Community and British internal market, so trade controls between the United Kingdom and the EU are carried out at the Northern Irish entry points, which avoids building a physical border between the two Irelands and not harm the peace agreement (1998).
But that trade border, located in the Irish Sea, has created political problems among pro-British unionists, as they consider it affects their relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom.
It remains to be seen if the new agreement now negotiated eliminates the concerns of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose approval is vital to be able to restore the Northern Irish Autonomous Executive (Stormont), which has been suspended for a year.
According to the media, the negotiated agreement establishes a system of green and red lanes between Great Britain and the province.
Goods destined for Northern Ireland would go through the green lane without routine controls, while those exported to the Republic of Ireland -in the EU- would go through the red lanes, for which reason they would undergo customs procedures in Northern Irish ports.
In addition, the European Court of Justice would remain as the final arbitrator in the event of a dispute over the single market rules that apply in Northern Ireland, something unionists opposed.
