Three years after Brexit, new spirit of UK-EU cooperation emerges

The Irish border is a particularly sensitive subject, as it is deeply resented by Irish Republicans, who regard it as a relic of British colonial rule that impedes their long-standing campaign to re-unite the island of Ireland.

Prior to the Brexit vote, border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland had been almost totally scaled down as part of the Good Friday Agreement negotiated by Tony Blair in 1998 to end decades of sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants. At the time, having a so-called "hard" border between Dublin and Belfast was deemed unnecessary as both the UK and Ireland were EU members.

After Brexit, though, the border quickly became a serious bone of contention as Brussels insisted that Northern Ireland could no longer enjoy the same trading relationship with the south. Indeed, the wrangling over the future of the province's trade ties with the EU ultimately led to the collapse of Theresa May's government after, much to the horror of pro-Brexit Tory MPs, she proposed an arrangement known as the Irish backstop, which required Northern Ireland to remain in some aspects of the EU's Single Market.

Separate trading relationship

The agreement effectively gave the province a separate trading relationship from the rest of the UK, which would no longer be required to comply with the requirements of Single Market membership. Unionists were outraged, claiming they were being treated as second class citizens within the UK's constitutional framework.

 A new deal was struck after Johnson took office known as the Northern Ireland Protocol whereby, rather than re-establishing border checks on the Irish border, an agreement was reached whereby the checks would instead be made on goods being shipped from the British mainland to the province, thereby creating a new customs border in the Irish Sea.

Even this compromise was not without controversy, especially within the predominantly Protestant Unionist community, which regarded the new Protocol, as it became known, as another arrangement that undermined Northern Ireland's sovereignty.

Opposition to the measure within the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), one of the main power-sharing groups in the Stormont assembly, was so strong that DUP leaders initiated a series of actions that has effectively prevented the assembly from fulfilling its governance role for the past year.

Given the bitterness that has surrounded this issue in recent years, it is all the more remarkable that Rishi Sunak, the latest prime minister to tackle the vexed issue, appears to have pulled off a diplomatic triumph in the shape of the Windsor Framework, a new agreement he has negotiated with the EU to resolve the Northern Ireland issue once and for all.

A portrayed political coup

In what Downing Street is portraying as a major political coup, Sunak has managed to broker a new deal with Brussels whereby, in the future, there will be two routes established for goods travelling into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

There will be a green lane for goods whose final destination is the province, and a separate red lane route for goods whose ultimate destination is Ireland, which therefore need to comply with the EU's Single Market rules.

While, on the face of it, the agreement might appear cumbersome, it will nevertheless remove much of the bureaucracy that had been introduced on all goods being shipped from the British mainland to Northern Ireland, which in some cases had resulted in British businesses cutting their trade ties with the province because of the difficulties involved.

By removing barriers on trade within the UK, Sunak has effectively ended the symbolic border that had been established in the Irish Sea, thereby easing Unionist concerns that their interests were being abandoned by London.

 "This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea," Sunak explained when outlining the details of his deal to MPs on Monday. He promised the deal would mean that, in future, food available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain would also be available in Northern Ireland.

And, in a further move to reassure Unionist politicians, Sunak announced he had negotiated an agreement with the EU that would give members of the Northern Ireland Assembly a say on any future changes to EU law by offering them "the Stormont brake". If 30 members of the NI Assembly across two parties voted against a change or new law proposed by the EU that might affect trading arrangements in the province, the initiative will be paused and referred back to the Westminster government to review.

After the acrimony that has often characterised relations between London and Brussels since Brexit, there can be little doubt that Sunak has achieved a significant improvement in the atmospherics in Britain's dealings with EU leaders, as was clearly evident from the tone of the joint press conference he held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to announce the deal.

Standing next to Sunak, the EU leader warmly referred to him as "dear Rishi", adding that she hoped the deal would open a "new chapter in our partnership" with a stronger EU-UK relationship." Sunak responded by praising Mrs von der Leyen's "vision in recognising the possibility of a new way forward."

The new spirit of cooperation between London and Brussels was reflected in the EU leader's promise to begin talks on re-admitting the UK to the EU's Horizon scientific research programme, which it was forced to leave because of Brexit.

A number of factors appear to lie behind this encouraging change in relations between the EU and Britain, not least the fact that, with Sunak in Downing Street, the EU is dealing with a British leader who genuinely wants to have good relations with Brussels, which was not something that could often be said during Johnson's premiership.

Ukraine factor

Another important factor has been the Ukraine conflict, where Britain has taken a leading role in rallying European support behind Kyiv. With the war now entering its second year, the need for European unity and solidarity has never been greater, a consideration that no doubt featured prominently in the negotiations to resolve the Northern Ireland issue.

The desire to repair relations certainly helped Sunak to secure an improved deal, one which even die-hard Brexit supporters appear to have accepted. David Davis, a former Brexit secretary, said the Prime Minister had "played a blinder", adding: "This is a remarkable success – he has done much better than his predecessors."

Silent and expressed dissent

There were, though, some notable voices absent from the gestures of support Sunak's new Brexit deal has attracted. After days of briefing from his allies that he was unhappy with Mr Sunak's agreement, Johnson declined to make any comment on the deal.

Concerns were also raised by Lord David Frost, the UK's chief Brexit negotiator under Johnson, who warned that the new trading arrangements still gave the EU too much influence over Northern Ireland's trading arrangements.

He said "the core problem is the imposition of EU law in Northern Ireland without consent."

There was also a lukewarm response to the deal from DUP leaders who, while conceding "significant progress" had been made, said they needed more time to study the details before making a decision on whether or not to support it.

But with Britain's opposition Labour Party pledging to support Sunak's deal when it is put to a vote in parliament, it is almost certain the agreement will be approved, a move that would undoubtedly help to bring to an end one of the more turbulent chapters in EU-UK relations.

-Christopher Philips is Professor of International Relations at Queen Mary University of London