Rishi Sunak avoids inquiries about NI Protocol deal

• Rishi Sunak avoided questions about the potential terms.
• Of a deal with the EU for post-Brexit trading deals for Northern Ireland.
• Accusing Starmer of wanting to give the EU a blank cheque and surrender.

Rishi Sunak avoided questions about the potential terms of a deal with the European Union for post-Brexit trading deals for Northern Ireland.

Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labor Party, questioned Mr. Sunak during PMQs on whether Northern Ireland will continue to be bound by some EU regulations.

Mr. Sunak said “intensive discussions” with the EU were ongoing.

Asked if MPs would get a vote on any deal, Mr. Sunak said Parliament would be able to “express its view”.

Officially, the government is only required to give MPs a vote on any changes under specific conditions; nonetheless, it may opt to do so for political reasons and will face pressure to do so.

Sir Keir challenged the prime minister on whether any agreement would maintain the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the supreme court of the EU.

But Mr. Sunak said the Labor leader was talking about a deal that was still being finalized and “he hasn’t even seen”.

He accused Sir Keir of wanting to give the EU “a blank cheque and agree to anything they offer”.

“It’s not a strategy, that’s surrender,” he added.

Mr. Sunak told MPs: “I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes.

“It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, it needs to safeguard Northern Ireland‘s place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.”

Sir Keir accused Mr. Sunak of not being “honest” with Tory MPs and “pulling the wool over their eyes”.

In addition, the prime minister dodged questions about whether he would abandon the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill if an agreement could be reached.

The measure, which has caused friction with the EU and is presently on hold in Parliament, would grant the government the authority to unilaterally renegotiate some provisions of the treaty.

The treaty, which went into effect in 2021, attempts to guarantee unrestricted goods movement by performing checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in place of the Irish land border.

Unionist parties disagree with the current regulations and contend that creating an actual border across the Irish Sea threatens Northern Ireland’s status as a member of the UK.

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There have been rumors that a resolution could be reached this week in the ongoing negotiations to try and resolve treaty-related difficulties that have been ongoing for more than a year.

However, progress appears to have stalled and the leader of Northern Ireland‘s largest unionist party, the DUP, has said “there are still some very key issues that need to be resolved”.

In protest, the party is delaying the establishment of Northern Ireland’s devolved government until its issues are resolved.

A majority of the Stormont assembly members support keeping the protocol in place in some capacity.

Improvements to the protocol are required, according to Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party, and the SDLP, in order to make it easier to implement.

During PMQs, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was “unacceptable that EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent” and called for the legally binding treaty text to be rewritten.

Mr. Sunak said he had heard the demands “loud and clear”, adding that “addressing the democratic deficit is an essential part of the negotiations”.

Although the UK has previously urged for the agreement to be rewritten, it now appears more likely that a new legal language will “overlay” the pact.

The EU can then claim that it has adhered to its stance of “no renegotiation,” while the UK can claim that the new agreement has altered the main treaty and how it functions.

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