Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hailed his deal on a post-Brexit trade arrangement for Northern Ireland as a “decisive development”.
Many Conservative MPs, including those who backed Brexit, backed the deal.
And the DUP, whose support will be key to restoring power sharing in Northern Ireland, said “significant progress” had been made.
But the party warned that “significant issues” remained.
DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson said his party would now study the legal text before deciding whether to back the deal.
The party has boycotted a devolved government until its concerns over the Northern Ireland protocol are resolved and some Tory MPs have said they would only back a deal if it had the support of the DUP.
Sinn Féin, the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, welcomed the deal, although it said it still needed to work out the details.
The party’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, repeated her call for the DUP to return to devolved government, adding: “We have always said that with pragmatism, solutions can be found.”
After months of negotiations and speculation about the potential deal, it was finally unveiled during a day of carefully choreographed ceremonies.
At around 14:00 GMT, word began to trickle out from within the government that a deal had finally been reached on an issue that has vexed four prime ministers.
The Prime Minister confirmed the development shortly after a joint press conference in Windsor with European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen.
There was a remarkable warmth between the Prime Minister and Mrs van der Leyen as they outlined their deal on Monday, with the EU chief referring to the Prime Minister as a “dear Rishi” and a “stronger EU-UK relationship”. Welcome to the “new chapter” of “
She went to tea with King Charles at Windsor Castle. The pair were pictured smiling and chatting, but some MPs expressed concern that the meeting would lead the king to a controversial political issue.
As Mr Sunak traveled back to London to address the Commons, the details of the long-awaited deal were going down well with some MPs who expected the prime minister to have political problems. could
Northern Ireland Office minister and arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker said Mr Sunak had “pulled a blender”.
He was considering resigning “as late as tomorrow”, he revealed, but added that the deal “should be good enough for any reasonable unionist”.
During a Commons debate, former prime minister Theresa May urged MPs to back the deal – but two other former leaders, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, did not attend.
No 10 will be pleased with the response from the US, where outstanding issues over arrangements in Northern Ireland are seen as an obstacle to any potential trade talks between London and Washington.
US President Joe Biden said the agreement was “an essential step towards securing and consolidating the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement”.
The agreement, dubbed the Windsor Framework, replaces the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was signed by Mr Johnson and comes into force in 2021.
The purpose of this protocol was to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border by checking between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
But under the deal, Northern Ireland had to continue to adhere to some EU rules.
Mr Sunak said the new deal “delivers smoother trade across the UK, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards the sovereignty of the people of Northern Ireland”.
Under the agreement:
- Goods coming from the UK to Northern Ireland will go through a new “green lane”, with goods at risk of crossing into the EU along a separate “red lane”.
- Checks and paperwork for products coming into Northern Ireland via the green lane will be significantly reduced, while red lane goods will still be subject to routine checks.
- A “Stormont break” allows the Northern Ireland assembly to object to “significantly different” EU rules that would apply in Northern Ireland.
- UK VAT and excise rules will apply to Northern Ireland for immediate consumption of alcoholic beverages and immovable goods such as heat pumps. Previously EU VAT rules could be applied in Northern Ireland.
But there is no guarantee that this will result in a devolved government returning to power for Northern Ireland. In a statement, the DUP said “significant progress has been made in a number of areas” but concerns remain.
“There is no need to hide the fact that EU law applies in Northern Ireland in some areas of our economy,” she said.
The party said it would now study the agreement and seek “further clarification, rework or change as needed”.
The nationalist Social Democratic and Labor parties, and the Alliance Party, which is neither nationalist nor unionist, welcomed the deal, although both said they had concerns about the Stormont break clause.
But the Traditionalist Unionist Voice party said the deal was “a lot of spin, not a lot of substance” and meant the protocol “effectively stands”.
The Ulster Unionist Party said it would study the details but would not cover other parties.
