The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have reportedly reached an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which it is hoped will ease delays and access challenges for agri-businesses on both sides of the border.

News agency PA Media said in a Twitter post that Sunak and von der Leyen have “struck a deal”, according to a “senior government source”.

Sunak took to his social media accounts shortly afterwards to confirm that he will hold a press conference this afternoon with von der Leyen on Northern Ireland.

Earlier today (Monday, February 27), the Prime Minister said on Twitter that he was looking forward to meeting the President of the European Commission in Windsor for further talks on the “shared, practical solutions to the range of complex challenges around the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

Von der Leyen also took to social media to share that she was glad to be in the UK to meet with Sunak, and was “looking forward to turning a page and opening a new chapter with our partner and friend”.

Seán Kelly MEP and first vice chair of the EU-UK Parliamentary Assembly has said that the deal announcement is welcome and offers hope to people and businesses in the region.

“The atmosphere in negotiations between the EU and UK became more positive and pragmatic once British Prime Minister Sunak took office,” he said.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of much hard work and significant progress at a technical level. Both negotiating teams should be commended on achieving this result.”

Implementing the Protocol

Kelly said there are legitimate problems in the implementation of the Protocol, but that “nobody can deny the patient and flexible approach” taken by the European Commission over the last few years trying to solve these issues.

“These difficulties are the predicted consequences following the hard Brexit chosen, and the approach the UK took in implementing the subsequent Brexit deal, even if some elected representatives would like you to conveniently forget their own part in it,” he said.

“There will be many who will seek to blame the messenger for their own political gain. But the can cannot be kicked down the road any longer.”

Kelly said this moment is a “real leadership test” for Sunak, who must “create a coalition of the logical, who are capable of looking beyond the immediate term, to communicate the fact based realities of the situation”.

“We all want to see this agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol become a reality in order to provide certainty to the people and businesses there.

“A resolution of this impasse offers the hope for the eventual return of the Northern Ireland Assembly so that the electorate may have proper representation. It is also very important economically, by offering businesses the chance to seize trading opportunities not only in terms of Northern Ireland, but also from an all-island perspective.”

Kelly said he looks forward to reviewing the detail of the agreement that has been reached.

AGRI-BUSINESS EU EUROPEAN COMMISSION NORTHERN IRELAND NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL RISHI SUNAK