Windsor Framework

The Windsor Framework is a post-Brexit legal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom which was announced on 27 February 2023 and formally adopted by both parties on 24 March 2023 as an adjustment to Articles 4 and 5 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It is designed to address problems identified in the original Protocol, particularly by the UK Government and Ulster Unionists, relating to the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (and thence potentially onwards, across the unrestricted border with the Republic of Ireland, to the European Single Market). The Framework came into effect on 1 October 2023. Some Unionist politicians, while stating that the Framework is an improvement on the original implementation of the Protocol, remain concerned that the nature of Northern Ireland's participation in the UK Internal Market is diminished by the Protocol's very existence. Their concerns have been a key factor in the ongoing (since Feb 2022) refusal of the Democratic Unionist Party to allow the operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and therefore the ongoing (at October 2023) suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Overview

The agreement was named after the meeting of the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Fairmont Hotel at Windsor Great Park. After meeting the Prime Minister and announcing the deal at the Windsor Guildhall, von der Leyen then had tea with King Charles III in Windsor Castle.

The agreement was reached in accordance with Article 14 and Article 15 of the protocol and did not formally need parliamentary approval. However, the Prime Minister promised that MPs should have an opportunity to vote on it: the vote took place in the House of Commons on 22 March 2023 and the Framework was passed with a large majority. The adoption halted the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill which the UK government had been taking forward, and the infringement procedures by the European Commission brought against the UK in relation to the bill.

On the EU side, there was no single vote or decision on the Framework as a whole. Some of the changed arrangements put in place under the Framework required agreement through qualified majority in the Council of the European Union. Some parts of the agreement required the consent of the European Parliament.

Contents of the agreement

The proposed agreement relates to goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It would introduce green and red lanes to reduce checks and paperwork on goods that are destined for Northern Ireland, and separate them from goods at risk of moving into the EU Common Market. It also includes a number of agreements on medicine control, VAT and alcohol duty.

Stormont brake

The framework introduces a mechanism called the "Stormont brake", which would allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to temporarily stop any changes to EU goods regulations from applying in Northern Ireland if the Assembly feared that the changes would have "significant and lasting effects on everyday lives".

According to the agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly can trigger the brake on any new "significantly different" rule being implemented if 30 Members of the Legislative Assembly from two or more parties object, giving way to a 14-day consultation period before reference to the UK Government for consideration. Cross-community consent (support from both unionists and nationalists) is not required. However, "the government says a decision on whether to permanently block an EU rule, once suspended and following discussion in the Joint Committee, would not happen 'in the absence of a cross-community vote'".

Reactions

Ireland

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, welcomed the agreement and said: "The Irish Government will do all we can to make these new arrangements work in the interest of people and enterprises in Northern Ireland, here in the Republic of Ireland while protecting the European Single Market and the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the United Kingdom and the Good Friday Agreement." Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald indicated her support for the agreement.

Northern Ireland

Vice President of Sinn Féin Michelle O'Neill said "I rarely find myself agreeing with a British prime minister but access to both markets has to be grabbed with both hands".

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's initial reaction to the agreement was one in which he said progress was made in several areas with several obstacles outstanding, adding that the framework would have to hold up to the party's seven tests on a suitable replacement to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Sammy Wilson expressed scepticism toward the Stormont brake, saying that " UP MPsstill fear our position in the United Kingdom is not going to be restored". On 20 March 2023, Donaldson announced that the DUP would oppose the framework, with the party and other unionists arguing that the agreement would continue to require Northern Ireland to comply with EU law.

Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry and Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood both expressed concerns about the Stormont Brake and the need for dual access to the UK and European markets.

United Kingdom

On 2 March 2023, former prime minister Boris Johnson said it will be "very difficult" for him to vote for the Windsor Framework. Johnson said the deal was "not about the UK taking back control". Former prime minister Liz Truss fully concurred with Johnson and stated that the Windsor Framework does not "satisfactorily resolve the issues thrown up by the Northern Ireland Protocol".

On 21 March 2023, the European Research Group (ERG), a faction of Conservative MPs, denounced the framework as “practically useless” but confirmed they would not vote as a bloc against it.

On 22 March 2023, the date of the parliamentary vote, 22 Conservative MPs and six DUP MPs voted against the government legislation. The vote ultimately passed by 515 votes to 29.

International

US President Joe Biden called the framework an "essential step to ensuring that the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is preserved and strengthened".

See also

* Brexit withdrawal agreement
*

References

External links

Official website (UK)
ontains political and legal documents
*
*
*

{{Rishi Sunak

Brexit-related agreements
2023 in British politics
2023 in the European Union
2023 in Northern Ireland
February 2023 events in the United Kingdom
Rishi Sunak
Windsor, Berkshire
2023 introductions