London and Brussels could finalize new Northern Ireland deal on Monday

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will announce a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland on Monday if they can agree final details during talks they will keep at midday in the UK.

The deal aims to resolve tensions caused by 2020 post-Brexit agreements governing the British province and its open border with EU member Ireland, but it remains to be seen whether it will go far enough to end to the political deadlock in Northern Ireland and to satisfy criticism in the UK.

Von der Leyen will travel to the UK for “late lunch” talks, after which Sunak will call a cabinet meeting. His office said if a deal was reached it would be announced at a joint press conference and later in the UK parliament by Sunak.

“The Prime Minister wants to ensure that any deal will solve practical problems on the ground, ensure the free flow of trade across the UK, preserve Northern Ireland’s place in our Union and return sovereignty to the people. Northern Ireland,” he said in a statement. Sunak’s office.

Sunak is confident that the success of the negotiation will allow him to focus voters’ attention on domestic reforms, as he tries to reduce the opposition Labor Party’s huge lead in opinion polls ahead of the election planned for 2024.

The deal is expected to facilitate physical checks on goods being transported from the UK to Northern Ireland and give the British province a say in what EU rules it has to apply under the complicated terms of the British exit from the bloc.

But the overall success of the deal will depend on his ability to convince the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end its boycott of the Northern Ireland power-sharing deal.

Power-sharing was at the heart of the 1998 peace accord, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in the province.

SOVEREIGNTY ISSUES

As part of its Withdrawal Agreement, Britain signed a deal with Brussels known as the Northern Ireland Protocol to avoid the imposition of politically controversial checks along the 500km land border with Ireland. ‘Ireland.

However, the protocol effectively created a border for some goods from the UK, as it kept Northern Ireland in the EU’s single goods market. In this way, Northern Ireland was subject to certain EU rules even though it was not a member of the bloc.

The perception that the protocol is eroding Northern Ireland’s place in the UK has angered many in pro-British communities.

(Reporting by William James; Editing by Christina Fincher, Spanish editing by José Muñoz in the Gdańsk newsroom)