The EU and the UK have a Northern Ireland Agreement, so what’s in it? – Politico

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London After four months of intense talks (and plenty of bickering before that), the EU and Britain have reached an agreement to settle the protracted post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland.

But as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak works to sell the so-called Windsor Framework of the Northern Ireland Protocol to Brexiteers and Unionists, MPs on both sides of the English Channel and Irish Sea are figuring out the details.

From paperwork to the factory, POLITICO guides you through new contracts and asks questions like: Who provided the rationale, and what exactly will the EU and UK negotiators do with the goal of keeping the single market where the thwarted deal is precious is safe?

Customs documents and checks

For businesses participating in the expanded Trusted Trader framework, the Windsor Framework aims to significantly reduce customs paperwork and inspection for goods moving out of the UK but destined to stay in Northern Ireland.

These goods cross the green lane with minimal paperwork and are marked Not for EU, while goods destined for the EU Single Market in the Republic of Ireland are subject to full EU customs inspection at Northern Ireland ports below the red lane.

Green lane traders only need to fill out one digital certificate per truck move, rather than multiple forms per load.

Sunak had already argued that this meant that the heavily disputed border sense of the Irish Sea among Northern Ireland’s unionist politicians was now removed.

But it’s by no means a complete end to the Irish Sea red tape. EU officials said the deal has significantly reduced the number of physical food safety checks, but there will still be some checks that are seen as essential to avoid risk of goods entering a single market.

These inspections are based on risk assessment and information and are aimed at preventing smuggling and crime.

Meanwhile, UK public health and safety standards apply to all retail food and beverages within the UK’s internal market. UK regulations for beverages such as public health, marketing, organic, labeling, genetically modified, wine, spirits and mineral water will apply in Northern Ireland. This removes over 60 EU food and beverage regulations from the original protocol detailed in more than 1,000 pages of legislation.

Supermarkets, wholesalers, hospitality and food producers will welcome the new measures. In a market as small as Northern Ireland, the cost of creating hundreds of certificates for each consignment was deemed too high and many stopped supplying to Northern Ireland.

Export declarations have been removed for most goods moving from Northern Ireland to the UK.

EU safeguards: Proposing to drastically reduce the amount of checks performed, the EU has tightened the criteria for being a trustworthy trader under the expanded regime. The EU now has access to a database that tracks shipments of goods between the UK and Northern Ireland in real time. The system has been tested over the winter and has helped build confidence in Brussels, with data from traders and UK authorities being available. The European Commission may suspend some or all of these trade easements if the UK does not comply with the new rules.

Timeline: The UK government has said it will consult with businesses in the coming months before implementing the new rules. Green Lanes will be implemented this fall. Labels for meat, meat products and minimally processed dairy products such as fresh milk will go into effect on October 1, 2024. All related products are displayed until July 1, 2025. Shelf-preserved products such as bread and pasta are not labeled. .

rule

A key initiative in the deal is to address a grievance that Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is currently boycotting the power-sharing parliament in the region over a protocol that said the region’s MPs had no say in the imposition of a new EU. It’s a bid. local rules.

Under the terms of the new contract, the Commission will have to inform the UK government about future EU regulations that will apply to Northern Ireland. According to Sunak, Stormont will be given new powers to put emergency brakes on EU product rule changes based on cross-community consent.

Under this mechanism, the UK government can suspend the application of new EU legislation in Northern Ireland if at least one-third of the 30 Members of Parliament request it. But if Northern Ireland’s trade union parties are to set off a new Stormont brake, they must first return to the power-sharing institutions they abandoned last May. The EU and the UK may agree to apply those rules at a later meeting of the Joint Committee overseeing the Protocol.

Commission chair Ursula von der Leyen said the new tool remains an emergency mechanism and hopes it will never need to be used. A second EU official said it would be triggered in the most exceptional circumstances as a last resort in a well-defined process set out in the UK’s unilateral declaration. life of local people.

If the EU does not agree to trigger the UK’s Stormont brake, the two will settle the matter through independent arbitration rather than involving the EU Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland courts will consider disputes over the application of EU rules in their jurisdiction, and judges can decide whether to consult with the CJEU on how to interpret them. In an important concession, the Commission has unilaterally agreed not to refer the case to the CJEU, but has the power to do so.

EU safeguards: The CJEU will remain the sole and ultimate arbiter of EU law and will have the final say in EU Single Market disputes, stressed von der Leyen. Whether Brexiteers and the DUP are willing to take it remains a million-dollar question.

Taxes, State Assistance and EU Regulations

The British government can now set rules in areas such as VAT and state aid, which could also apply to Northern Ireland, Sunak’s two major victories rejected by the Commission in previous negotiations with the former British Prime Minister.

Sunak struggled to point out that on Monday he would allow Westminster to pass alcohol tariff cuts previously passed through Northern Ireland.

However, London had to abandon the idea of ​​establishing a dual regulatory mechanism that would allow Northern Irish companies to choose whether to follow EU or UK rules when manufacturing goods, depending on whether they sold in the single EU. On the market or in England, the whole idea was deemed impossible to police by Brussels.

EU safeguards: Northern Irish companies producing goods for the UK’s internal market only need to comply with less than 3 per cent of the EU Single Market Rule, a UK official has said. However, the nature of these regulations is unclear and, to reassure the EU, UK authorities will increase market surveillance and enforcement.

Timeline: The UK Government can exercise these powers as soon as the Windsor Framework comes into force.

package

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom have agreed to eliminate customs formalities for parcels from UK consumers to Northern Ireland.

EU safeguards: Parcels sent between businesses will now travel via the new green lanes, as will be the case for other goods destined to stay in Northern Ireland. That way, you can be monitored, but you don’t have to go through international customs formalities. Parcel operators will share their commercial data with HMRC, the UK’s tax authority, to mitigate risks to the EU Single Market.

Timeline: This new measure will take effect in September 2024.

Pets

UK residents can bring dogs, cats and ferrets to Northern Ireland without meeting the rabies vaccine, tapeworm treatment and other testing requirements.

Pets traveling to and from Northern Ireland to the UK do not require documentation, declarations, checks or health treatment.

EU safeguards: Pets equipped with microchips can travel with a lifetime pet travel certificate issued free of charge by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Pet owners check the box in their travel reservations acknowledging that they accept the applicable scheme rules and will not be bringing their pets to the EU.

Timeline: New rules go into effect in Fall 2023.

approximately

Medicines approved for use by MHRA, the UK’s medicines regulator, will be automatically available at all pharmacies and hospitals in Northern Ireland at the same time and under the same conditions as in the UK, von der Leyen said.

Companies must secure approval for a UK-wide license from MHRA to supply medicines in Northern Ireland without going through the European Medicines Agency. The agreement removes EU Falsified Medicines Directive packaging, labeling and barcode requirements for pharmaceutical products. This means manufacturers can produce a single pack design for the entire UK, including Northern Ireland.

Medicines shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are exempt from customs paperwork, checks and duties, and merchants only need to provide general commercial information.

EU safeguards: Medicines traveling from the UK to Northern Ireland will do so via new green lanes with monitoring to protect the single market.

Timeline: The UK government has said it will soon work with the pharmaceutical industry on these changes.

plant

The deal lifts the protocol ban on seed potatoes entering Northern Ireland from the UK and the ban on trees and shrubs considered high risk to the EU single market. This will allow garden centers and other businesses in Northern Ireland to sell 11 native species to the UK, with some for sale elsewhere.

The Windsor framework also eliminates sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) inspections for all these plants and removes bureaucracy for shipments to Northern Ireland.

EU safeguards: Suppliers must obtain a Northern Ireland plant health label identical to the plant passport already required within the UK, but with the addition of a QR code linking to words only available in the UK. to the rules.

Timeline: All new plans and lifting of bans will be implemented in the fall.

Leonie Kijewski contributed reporting.

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