Rishi Sunak held a Brexit summit today with the President of the European Commission to sign the revised agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. In the afternoon, Sunak and von der Leyen met for the so-called ‘closing talks’. “Now the bunny has to come out of the top hat,” says European correspondent Stefan de Vries.
Sunak’s biggest challenge will be selling the deal to Brexit hardliners and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Union Party (DUP), who warned again over the weekend that they would accept nothing over their red line.
Read also | Sunak: ‘Progress around Northern Ireland’
“From the start of Brexit it was a complicated issue that everyone saw,” said Europe correspondent Stefan de Vries. “Now the bunny has to come out of the top hat.”
“Now the bunny has to come out of the top hat.”
And while sources in Downing Street say Sunak and von der Leyen have yet to negotiate, according to The Guardian, it is widely believed that the assembly will approve a review of Boris Johnson’s protocol for post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.
Read also | Britain wants to break Northern Ireland’s open agreement
High-tech solutions
The deal is not expected to change how Northern Ireland trades with the EU or the rest of the UK across the Irish border, but will introduce a system to facilitate control of crossing the Irish Sea – something that has angered the DUP and many Tories.
De Vries called it the magic solution: ‘Details are unclear, but use of technology is being considered. The goods have been inspected when they leave the factory or production. Commitment to high technology as product moves from UK to Northern Ireland.’
Bring back Brexit
Sunak is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon and a joint press conference with von der Leyen is likely to follow. Then he will reform the House of Commons. Sunak said the agreement resolved all practical problems. If that doesn’t work, Sunak has a big problem. If he succeeds, Sunak will succeed in accomplishing what his three predecessors failed to do.’
“If that doesn’t work, Sunak is in big trouble.”
If Sunak is successful, ‘he wants to forge closer cooperation with Brussels. So it’s actually a partial reversal of Brexit, because everyone sees that it’s not a smart move.’
Read also | Sunak: ‘I’m not going to sign any deal that solves nothing’
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