Sunak and von der Leyen agree a new settlement for Northern Ireland

Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced the Windsor Framework on 27 February 2023. The agreement revised arrangements governing goods moving into Northern Ireland after Brexit. It addressed a problem with consequences on both sides of the Irish Sea: maintaining Northern Ireland’s place in the UK while protecting the European single market.

Trade and political consent

The framework addressed the movement of goods within the UK alongside the protection of the EU single market. For businesses, its importance lay in the requirements applying to trade across the Irish Sea. For Northern Ireland’s institutions, the issue was also one of democratic consent. The agreement brought those commercial and constitutional questions into a revised negotiating settlement.