The European Union and the United Kingdom are set to formally adopt the Windsor Framework on Friday at a joint committee meeting in London, co-chaired by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverley and Vice President of the EU Commission Maroš Šefčovič.
Following the British Parliament’s approval of the Stormont Brake in the Windsor Framework on Thursday and the Swedish-led EU Council's decision a day earlier to also approve it, the two parties look likely to move forward on a particularly sore dispute around the status of Northern Ireland.
"This is the beginning of a new chapter,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in February when announcing the deal, having struck a more conciliatory tone than his predecessors.
Ahead of the meeting, Cleverley continued with a constructive approach. “The Framework is the best deal for Northern Ireland, safeguarding its place in the Union and protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.”
A new chapter
After approving the deal on Tuesday, the EU stated that its adoption of the Framework demonstrated its commitment to implementing joint solutions to address the practical difficulties in implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the ground.
“The agreement on the Windsor Framework is a truly positive achievement ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It will benefit people and businesses in Northern Ireland and should allow the EU and the UK to open a new chapter in our relations,” Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessika Roswall stated.
Roswall added that the EU was looking forward to the deal’s “swift implementation in good faith.”
A worker walks along the same dock in Belfast where the Titanic was built. Credit: Belga/Peter Muhly
The formal adoption on Friday comes after British MPs overwhelmingly supported the Stormont Brake. Sunak believes the agreement will introduce a strong democratic safeguard in Northern Ireland, by giving it a "powerful role" to decide whether significant new goods rules should apply in Northern Ireland.
A small number of MPs, including disgraced former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the ruling Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, voted against the new deal.
Cleverly and Šefčovič are expected to present an agreement reached between the UK, Ireland and the EU on a new cross-border programme to promote peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland. The UK Government will lay today a financing treaty that will allow parliamentary scrutiny before its entry into force.
On Friday, the two parties will also discuss wider UK-EU cooperation, including sanctions on Russia, energy security, and irregular migration.
Cleverly and Šefčovič will co-chair a meeting to oversee the implementation, application and interpretation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, such as on energy, trade and security.
The UK Government is also hoping to adhere to EU science and research programmes, and is expected to welcome the EU’s recent willingness to engage in discussions on EU research programmes. However, two years into a seven-year programme, Brussels has not yet made any proposals.
