The Windsor Framework: What is in the new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed a new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, calling it the Windsor Framework.
lt is designed to tackle the issues impacting Northern Ireland since the UK left the EU – and the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol came into force.
But what does the new deal entail?
This is an early look at what has been announced by Mr Sunak – we will bring you more when the full framework is published.
Trade
The agreement will introduce two new routes for goods when they are travelling from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.
Products which are travelling through NI to get to the Republic of Ireland – which is in the EU – will go via a red lane, ensuring they pass all the customs checks they need to before crossing the Irish Sea.
But products which are set to stay in NI – and therefore in the UK – will go via a green lane, which Mr Sunak said would see the current “burdensome customs bureaucracy scrapped”, e.g. no more documents.
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The prime minister said the new agreement on Brexit was a ‘historic’ and a ‘decisive breakthrough’ that ‘safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland’
The PM also said it would benefit people sending parcels to friends and family within the UK or buying products online as there would not have to be any customs paperwork.
He promised food available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain would also be available in Northern Ireland.
Mr Sunak said: “This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea.”
Taxes and medicines
Next up is something Mr Sunak says protects Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
The legal text of the protocol has been amended to make sure the UK government’s decision on VAT and excise will also be implemented in Northern Ireland.
Under the previous Brexit agreement, those decisions were taken in Brussels as the region had to follow single market rules.
But now any changes in Westminster will come into force in Northern Ireland, with the PM using the example of alcohol duty, “meaning our reforms to cut the cost of a pint in the pub will now apply in Northern Ireland”.
He said British products like trees, plants, and seed potatoes will also be available again in Northern Ireland’s garden centres.
A “landmark” settlement has been agreed on medicines, meaning drugs approved for use by the UK’s medicines regulator will be automatically available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland.
In good news for pet owners, they can now travel without documentation from a vet.
Stormont brake
Perhaps the most politically significant element of the framework is this proposal, which Mr Sunak says “safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland”.
Unionists, such as the DUP, are against any EU laws having to be followed in Northern Ireland as members of the Assembly do not have a say over them.
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‘We knew this would not be easy’, says Ursula von der Leyen
But to avoid a hard border returning to the island of Ireland, others say some of the bloc’s laws will have to be followed going forward.
Mr Sunak told reporters some rules would remain, adding: “The only EU law that applies in Northern Ireland under the framework is the minimum necessary to avoid a hard border with Ireland and allow Northern Irish businesses to continue accessing the EU market”.
However, what the PM has agreed with the EU is to give members of the Northern Ireland Assembly a say on any changes to EU law by offering them “the Stormont brake”.
Mr Sunak said if the brake is pulled by politicians in NI, “the UK government will have a veto” on any law changes by the bloc that impacts them.
“This gives the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland a powerful new safeguard, based on cross-community consent,” he added.
The detail of how this works could be make or break for the PM to get the support of the DUP and Brexiteer members of his own party.
Israel pounded the outskirts of Gaza City overnight, as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Families streamed out of the city as the explosions hit.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40.
“No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Mahmoud Abedrabo mourns over the body of his son Hamada in Gaza City on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation.
“We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money,” she said.
Mourners pray next to the body of Palestinian boy Hamada Abedrabo on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Witnesses said that overnight they heard nonstop explosions in Zeitoun and Shejaia.
Tanks shelled houses and roads in Sabra, and buildings were blown up in Jabalia.
On Sunday, the IDF said its forces had returned to combat in Jabalia to strengthen its control of the area and dismantle militant tunnels.
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
This month, Israel approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City. The offensive isn’t expected to start for another few weeks.
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In the meantime, mediators in Egypt and Qatar are trying to resume ceasefire talks between the two sides.
On Friday, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas releases all its remaining hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms.
Mourners transport the body of Ahmed Balata on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Around half of Gaza’s two million residents currently live in the city and on Friday a global hunger monitor said that Gaza City and its surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread.
Israel said the monitor ignores steps Israel has taken since late July to increase aid supplies into and across Gaza.
Eight more people died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry on Saturday.
281 people, including 114 children, have now died of malnutrition and starvation since the war started, according to the ministry.
The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel, mainly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and internally displaced nearly its entire population.
Two married couples have died after a British car veered off the road and crashed in Germany, according to police.
The fatal accident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday in the trees near a highway in the Kassel district, north of Hesse in central Germany.
The 32-year-old male driver, a 31-year-old female passenger, a 32-year-old female passenger, and a 30-year-old female passenger all died at the scene, despite the efforts of German emergency services.
Sky News understands UK officials have not been contacted for assistance.
At roughly 12.30am on Saturday, the car appears to have veered off the road and crashed into nearby trees around 30m from the road, according to the Kassel police department.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
One of the victim’s phones automatically alerted the emergency services to the incident, who sent an ambulance to the scene.
Soon, fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and emergency support vehicles were all dispatched.
When emergency workers arrived, the car was lying on its side, wedged between several trees.
It wasn’t until they removed the roof that they found all four passengers.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
The accident happened on Highway L3229
The emergency workers who dealt with the victims were immediately supported by the specialist mental health workers at the fire station in Reinhardshagen.
“This high number of deaths is an extraordinary operation for our Reinhardshagen Volunteer Fire Department,” said a fire department spokesperson.
“For some of the emergency personnel, it is the first time they have been confronted with death in this way.
“Therefore, a great deal is being done to help us process these images. We will also discuss this among ourselves and within families, because not everyone can easily shake off what they have seen.”
An investigation into the accident is ongoing and is being conducted by the Hofgeismar police station.
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