Checks to be removed as part of Brexit deal

DUP leader says move prevents border in Irish Sea

ROUTINE post-Brexit checks on goods shipped from Britain to final destinations in the North are to be removed as part of a deal to restore powersharing at Stormont.

A command paper, Safeguarding The Union, commits to replacing the current green lane process, which requires percentages of goods to be checked as they arrive from Britain, with a ‘UK internal market system’ that will govern the movement of goods that will remain within the

Hailed the move as a key concession

United Kingdom.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has hailed the move as a key concession that will effectively scrap the contentious so-called Irish Sea border for goods destined to remain within the UK.

‘There should not be a border within the UK internal market. These proposals remove that border,’ he said.

The measure is part of a wideranging deal agreed between the DUP and the UK government that is set to bring about the restoration of devolved government in the North after a two-year hiatus.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said restored powersharing in Northern Ireland offered the prospect of a ‘brighter future’.

Mr Sunak told the UK House of Commons: ‘After two years without an executive, there is now a prospect of powersharing back up and running, strengthening our Union, giving people the local, accountable government that they need and offering a brighter future for Northern Ireland.’

The DUP has agreed to drop its two-year blockade of Stormont in exchange for the government measures aimed at addressing its concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements that created economic barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The Stormont Assembly could sit again as soon as Saturday.

While Mr Donaldson has secured the backing of party colleagues to accept the deal, there are those within the DUP who remain deeply sceptical of the proposed agreement to restore powersharing. Speaking in the Commons, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson voiced his concerns as he heavily criticised the UK government.

‘When the Northern Ireland Assembly sits, ministers and Assembly members will be expected by law to adhere to and implement laws which are made in Brussels, which they had no say over and no ability to amend, and no ability to stop,’ he said.

Under the deal, the post-Brexit red lane for transporting goods from Britain to Northern Ireland and on into the EU Single Market will remain, but the volume of trade required to use that redtape heavy route will reduce, with a prediction that 80% of goods will now move free of routine checks through the internal market system.

It is understood the EU has been kept up to date with the shape of the UK government’s package of measures. Downing Street has said the deal contains ‘significant’ changes to the Windsor Framework’s ‘operation’, but is not about altering the ‘fundamentals’ of the framework.

But Mr Donaldson insisted the deal had resulted in ‘clear’ changes to the Windsor Framework.

If there are any changes to the framework, they would be examined and decided upon within the existing EU/UK Joint Committee system.

A move already approved by the Joint Committee, and announced on Tuesday, will see Northern Ireland given barrier-free access to internationally sourced agri-food goods that are currently freely available in Britain through UK free trade deals with other countries.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin suggested Brussels would have a role in approving the moves. ‘I think the EU Commission will look at this,’ he told reporters after meeting political leaders in Belfast.

‘But I do not anticipate any particular difficulties in respect of the EU side.’

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said while he had not seen all of the detail yet, he hadn’t seen any ‘red flags’ that would give Ireland or the EU cause for concern.

Insisted the deal had ‘clear’ changes