Brexit deal ‘very much game on’ after Rishi Sunak holds talks with Northern Ireland parties

Published

2 years ago

February 17, 2023

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“Significant progress has been made” to resolve the row over the Northern Ireland protocol and a deal is “very much game on”, Sinn Fein’s leader said.

Speaking after talks with Rishi Sunak, Mary Lou McDonald told reporters: “We have always believed that a deal on the protocol was possible and we’ve always known it was necessary.

“It is clear that significant progress has been made and we are very heartened by that. We now want to see a speedy concluding of matters.”

Politics live: PM holds talks with NI parties

Mr Sunak travelled to Belfast last night to meet local party leaders amid mounting speculation a deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements could be days away.

Ms McDonald said: “The bottom line is that we have to ensure that any deal provides for ongoing access to the European single market, no hardening of the border on the island of Ireland and a protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts.

“It seems to us that it’s very much game on.”

She said if these terms are reached it is then “a matter for everyone, for each of the political parties to step up, get back to work and deliver for people here in the north of Ireland”.

This is likely aimed at the DUP and other unionists who have collapsed the Stormont assembly in protest over the protocol.

What is the Northern Ireland protocol?

The mechanism was put in place to ensure there was not a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit, which would have caused significant difficulties.

But because the Republic of Ireland is still in the EU, it meant that any goods in either the Republic or Northern Ireland had to abide by EU rules and regulations.

This led to goods travelling into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK being subject to import checks – effectively turning the Irish Sea into a trade border, which former prime minister Boris Johnson promised would not happen.

Unionists in Northern Ireland say this has led to them not being a full part of the UK and are refusing to cooperate with forming a devolved Executive in Stormont until the issues are resolved.

The UK government says the protocol is not working and wants to override it with new legislation if the EU does not agree to changes – a move Brussels has warned is “illegal and unrealistic”.

However, tensions have cooled in recent months, with both sides pledging to work together to find a way forward.

Newspaper reports have suggested Mr Sunak could brief his cabinet on the deal and announce it in parliament as soon as Tuesday.

Delivering a deal would be seen as a major accomplishment for the prime minister, but the DUP – the largest unionist party – would have to be on board for power sharing to be restored.

‘Still some work required’ – DUP

After emerging from talks with Mr Sunak, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said while “progress has been made” on the NI protocol there is “still some work required”.

He warned that “if and when a final agreement is reached, we will want to carefully consider the detail of that agreement and decide if the agreement does, in fact meet our seven tests”.

These “seven tests” were set out by the party in 2021 and include no new checks of any sort on goods being traded between GB and NI.

Asked if he will compromise on these tests for a deal to pass muster, Sir Jeffrey said it “is not a question of compromising”, but rather the “UK government honouring the commitments they’ve made”.

‘Way to go yet’ on Northern Ireland deal

Other party leaders were cautious about the prospect of an imminent breakthrough.

UUP leader Doug Beattie, a unionist politician, said that Mr Sunak told him there was a way to go yet on the Northern Ireland protocol deal.

He told reporters: “Really, all he said was things are moving quicker than he probably anticipated them actually moving.

“But when he says there’s still some way to go, that sort of tells me that we could be talking next week, that doesn’t mean it will be next week, it could be the week after.”

Meanwhile Colum Eastwood, the leader of the nationalist SDLP, said the prime minister had given “scant” detail on the potential deal with the EU and said he believed that Mr Sunak was “ticking the box” of engaging with the Stormont parties.

“I think he’s very careful not to get into too much detail until the deal is done and I suppose that’s fair enough,” he said.

Mr Eastwood said he made clear to Mr Sunak that the dual market access provided for in the protocol, allowing business in Northern Ireland to sell unfettered into the EU single market, must be preserved.

“He said the deal is not done yet,” he added.

Role of the European Court of Justice

A key sticking point in negotiations is the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Senior figures within the DUP and the European Research Group of the Tory party have warned that any deal must remove the oversight of the ECJ in Northern Ireland as well as dealing with trading difficulties.

While it is understood the EU and UK are close to signing off a deal that would reduce protocol red tape on the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, there is no expectation that Brussels is willing to agree to end the application of EU law in the region.

The EU contends that a fundamental plank of the protocol – namely that Northern Ireland traders can sell freely into the European single market – is dependent on the operation of EU rules in the region.

Asked by reporters about the prospect of continued ECJ oversight in Northern Ireland, Sir Jeffrey said: “When we trade within the UK then we should follow UK standards and UK rules, that is our clear position.

“When we’re trading with the European Union, then of course the products that we make, the goods that we want to sell to the European Union have to meet EU standards, that’s the same across the whole of the United Kingdom.

“So, we are looking for an outcome that addresses the issue of where do we stand in relation to our ability to trade within the United Kingdom and its internal market, and that is, in essence, what we need to get as an outcome from this negotiation.”

World

Trump’s pride vs Putin’s legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

Published

9 hours ago

August 14, 2025

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Trump's pride vs Putin's legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet for the first time in six years on Friday, with a possible deal to end the Ukraine war on the agenda.

Mr Trump has threatened “very severe consequences” if his Russian counterpart doesn’t agree to a ceasefire at the summit, being hosted at a remote US army base in snowy Anchorage, Alaska.

Follow latest updates from Ukraine war

But there are fears they will discuss a deal robbing Ukraine of the land currently occupied by Russia – something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won’t accept.

Here’s what three of our correspondents think ahead of the much-anticipated face-to-face.

Putin’s legacy is at stake – he’ll want territory and more
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

Putin doesn’t just want victory. He needs it.

Three and a half years after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, this war has to end in a visible win for the Russian president. It can’t have been for nothing. His legacy is at stake.

So the only deal I think he’ll be willing to accept at Friday’s summit is one that secures Moscow’s goals.

These include territory (full control of the four Ukrainian regions which Russia has already claimed), permanent neutrality for Kyiv and limits on its armed forces.

I expect he’ll be trying to convince Trump that such a deal is the quickest path to peace. The only alternative, in Russia’s eyes, is an outright triumph on the battlefield.

I think Putin‘s hope is that the American president agrees with this view and then gives Ukraine a choice: accept our terms or go it alone without US support.

A deal like that might not be possible this week, but it may be in the future if Putin can give Trump something in return.

That’s why there’s been lots of talk from Moscow this week about all the lucrative business deals that can come from better US-Russia relations.

The Kremlin will want to use this opportunity to remind the White House of what else it can offer, apart from an end to the fighting.

Ukraine would rather this summit not be happening
By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor

Ukraine would far rather this meeting wasn’t happening.

Trump seemed to have lost patience with Putin and was about to hit Russia with more severe sanctions until he was distracted by the Russian leader’s suggestion that they meet.

Ukrainians say the Alaska summit rewards Putin by putting him back on the world stage.

But the meeting is happening, and they have to be realistic.

Most of all, they want a ceasefire before any negotiations can happen. Then they want the promise of security guarantees.

That is because they know that Putin may well come back for more even if peace does break out. They need to be able to defend themselves should that happen.

And they want the promise of reparations to rebuild their country, devastated by Putin’s wanton, unprovoked act of aggression.

There are billions of Russian roubles and assets frozen across the West. They want them released and sent their way.

What they fear is Trump being hoodwinked by Putin with the lure of profit from US-Russian relations being restored, regardless of Ukraine’s fate.

That would allow Russia to regain its strength, rearm and prepare for another round of fighting in a few years’ time.

Trump and his golf buddy-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff appear to believe Putin might be satisfied with keeping some of the land he has taken by force.

Putin says he wants much more than that. He wants Ukraine to cease to exist as a country separate from Russia.

Any agreement short of that is only likely to be temporary.

Trump’s pride on the line – he has a reputation to restore
By Martha Kelner, US correspondent

As with anything Donald Trump does, he already has a picture in his mind.

The image of Trump shaking hands with the ultimate strongman leader, Vladimir Putin, on US soil calls to his vanity and love of an attention-grabbing moment.

There is also pride at stake.

Trump campaigned saying he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office, so there is an element of him wanting to follow through on that promise to voters, even though it’s taken him 200-plus days in office and all he’s got so far is this meeting, without apparently any concessions on Putin’s end.

In Trump’s mind – and in the minds of many of his supporters – he is the master negotiator, the chief dealmaker, and he wants to bolster that reputation.

He is keen to further the notion that he negotiates in a different, more straightforward way than his predecessors and that it is paying dividends.

So far, despite sanctions on Russia, despite warnings and deadlines, the situation in Ukraine is only getting worse.

He’s hoping that this meeting, simply the act of sitting down with Putin, can change the tide.

The Russian president may have different ideas.

World

Trump’s targets for Putin summit appear fluid – can he even get a ceasefire?

Published

9 hours ago

August 14, 2025

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Trump's targets for Putin summit appear fluid - can he even get a ceasefire?

The “if” was doing some heavy lifting.

Mr Trump floated the idea of a second meeting, this one between Putin, Zelenskyy and possibly himself, “if” the Alaska summit goes well.

Speaking to European leaders earlier, in a virtual call he rated at “10” and “very friendly”, he’d shared his intention to try to broker a ceasefire on Friday.

So, the strategy is crystallising – he will press for a trilateral meeting to discuss territory “if” he manages to secure a truce during the bilateral meeting.

But that begs the obvious question: what if he can’t?

The US president is keeping his options open – rating the chance of a second meeting as “very good” but preparing the ground for failure too.

“There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it is not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we’re not going to have a second meeting,” he said.

Unusually, given how often he talks about his abilities, he conceded that he may not persuade Vladimir Putin to stop targeting civilians.

But without elaborating on what any sanctions might be, he warned that Russia would face “very severe consequences” if it doesn’t end the war.

Even if he achieves the seemingly impossible – a halt to the fighting – there seems little chance of agreement on any swapping of territory.

Mr Zelenskyy has told Mr Trump that Putin “is bluffing” and wants to “push forward along the whole front” not return land.

In the space of a week, Donald Trump has gone from talking about a land-swapping deal, to a “listening exercise”, to the potential for a ceasefire.

His expectations appear changeable, an indication of how fluid back-room negotiations are in the run-up to his first face-to-face with Vladimir Putin in six years.

He described Friday’s summit as “setting the table for a second meeting”, but that’s presumptuous when the meal – or deal – isn’t cooked yet.

World

Over 100 people killed in Gaza in 24 hours, officials say, marking deadliest day in a week

Published

15 hours ago

August 13, 2025

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Over 100 people killed in Gaza in 24 hours, officials say, marking deadliest day in a week

More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza within 24 hours, officials there have said – the deadliest day recorded in a week.

The Gaza health ministry said 123 people were killed, adding to the tens of thousands of fatalities during the near two-year war raging in the Strip.

It comes as officials said Israel’s planned re-seizure of Gaza City, which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing, is likely weeks away.

Follow the latest: Netanyahu accused of having ‘lost the plot’

Eastern areas of Gaza City were bombed heavily by Israeli planes and tanks, according to residents, who said that many homes were destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods overnight.

Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a house in Zeitoun.

Israeli tanks also destroyed several homes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Palestinian medics said.

They added that in central Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed nine people seeking aid in two separate incidents. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) did not comment on this.

The number of Palestinians who died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza has risen to 235, including 106 children, since the war began, following the death of eight more people, including three children, in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said.

The malnutrition and hunger death figures have been reported by the Hamas-run ministry and have been disputed by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday: “If we had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war.”

He also repeated the allegation that Hamas has been looting aid trucks and claimed uncollected food has been “rotting” at the border, blaming the UN for not distributing it.

The latest death figures come as Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo with a focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and “enduring the suffering of our people in Gaza”, an official for the group said in a statement.

Egyptian security sources said the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire would also be discussed.

This would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons, with a Hamas official saying the group was open to all ideas as long as Israel would end the war and pull out of Gaza.

But the official added that “laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed as impossible”.

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Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu reiterated that Palestinians should simply leave Gaza, an idea which has also been enthusiastically floated by US President Donald Trump.

“They’re not being pushed out, they’ll be allowed to exit,” Mr Netanyahu told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. “All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us.”

World leaders have rejected the idea of displacing the Gaza population, and Mr Netanyahu’s plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has increased global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is at “unimaginable levels”, Britain and 26 partners said in a statement on Tuesday, warning: “Famine is unfolding before our eyes.”

The statement added: “Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation. Humanitarian space must be protected, and aid should never be politicised.”

It was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducted 251 others in its attack.

Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. It is believed Hamas is still holding 50 captives, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.