Britain and EU have understanding on Northern Ireland issues but deal ‘by no means done’, Rishi Sunak says

Published

2 years ago

February 18, 2023

admin

Britain and the EU have an understanding on what needs to be done to resolve issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol but a deal is “by no means done”, Rishi Sunak has said.

Speaking during a question and answer session after his speech at the Munich Security Conference, the prime minister said Britain wanted to have a positive relationship with the bloc.

But he said that there were “real issues that need resolving”.

“The way that the protocol has been implemented, it’s causing very real challenges for families, for people, for businesses on the ground,” he said.

“We’re engaging in those conversations with the European Union all the time and we have been for a while, but what I’d say is there is still work to do.

“There are still challenges to work through. We have not resolved all these issues.

“No, there isn’t a deal that has been done, there is an understanding of what needs to be done.”

Mr Sunak added that “we’re working through (the issues) hard and we will work through them intensely with the EU, but we are by no means done”.

It comes after Sinn Fein’s leader Mary Lou McDonald said “significant progress” had been made to resolve the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol and a deal is “very much game on”.

Speaking after discussions with Mr Sunak, who was in Northern Ireland on Friday to hold talks with political leaders, she 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.

“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.

Mr Sunak travelled to Belfast, along with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, to meet Stormont leaders amid mounting speculation a deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements could be days away.

After emerging from talks with Mr Sunak, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said while “progress has been made” on the Northern Ireland 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”.

Rishi Sunak may not want to look like he is jumping the gun over new deal

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

Rishi Sunak very much downplaying reports that there could be a deal revealed as soon as Monday.

I guess the question is, whether that is an indication of genuine delays and problems and that there may not be something coming in the imminent future, or whether this is more strategy.

I think when you look at some of the choreography of the last few days, discussions going on in Belfast, the foreign secretary in Brussels yesterday, and meetings with EU leaders in Munich, it feels like there is something more substantial that is moving there.

So what may be going on, quite frankly, is an attempt not to sound too presumptuous in terms of revealing a deal without the DUP’s permission. Because of course, it is the DUP, unionist politicians in Northern Ireland, that really need to approve of this deal.

Because if they don’t, they will refuse to go back into power-sharing in Belfast and it means the democratic institutions, the executive, and the assembly there, won’t sit again.

So Rishi Sunak is trying to keep multiple audiences happy here, and that is potentially why he doesn’t want to sound too presumptuous or looking like he is jumping the gun in announcing any potential deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The mechanism has left Northern Ireland without a devolved power-sharing executive since early last year.

The protocol has overshadowed Northern Irish politics since it was agreed upon as part of the Brexit deal in a bid to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Members of the unionist community are unhappy with the difficulties it creates for trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, with the DUP refusing to cooperate with forming a devolved Executive in Stormont until the issues are resolved.

What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?

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.

Last month, the EU and the UK said there was a “new basis” for resolving the Northern Ireland Protocol row after an agreement was reached in sharing trade data.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

5 hours ago

July 1, 2025

admin

Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

8 hours ago

July 1, 2025

admin

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

14 hours ago

July 1, 2025

admin

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.