Hopes grow for a Brexit deal on the north as British PM to meet EU leaders

British prime minister Rishi Sunak is now expected to hold talks with EU leaders on the margins of the Munich security conference to try to resolve the long-running dispute over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements

Irish Government sources have described as “positive” reports that British prime minister Rishi Sunak is due to meet EU leaders in Bavaria this week in a final push for a Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.

Sources described as “kosher”, reports in the Financial Times that a deal on the protocol is more realistic than at any time in recent months amid a “growing sense of positivity” between EU and UK negotiators.

Mr Sunak is now expected to hold talks with EU leaders on the margins of the Munich security conference to try to resolve the long-running dispute over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen, French president Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz are scheduled to attend the summit, where the main focus will be the war in Ukraine.

Given Ireland’s neutral status, the Taoiseach is not due to attend.

According to reports, Downing Street said “intensive scoping” of a Brexit deal was continuing, but the involvement of senior British ministers, including Mr Sunak, was seen by some in London as a sign an agreement could be reached this month.

It is understood that what is now being contemplated is a deal that would overhaul the so-called Northern Ireland protocol by reducing trade friction between the region and Great Britain.

Senior British officials said a deal would include a continuing role for the European Court of Justice in overseeing Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements, although it would not be involved in the majority of legal cases.

Under the existing deal, Northern Ireland has remained part of the EU single market for goods, and the region’s pro-UK politicians and businesses have complained about the number of checks on products coming from Britain. Despite the complaints of unionist politicians, many business leaders in the North have insisted the protocol is working well.

A major sticking block has been that for many Eurosceptic MPs, any suggestion of continued ECJ jurisdiction over British territory is unacceptable.

Mr Sunak would be expected to drop the government’s Northern Ireland protocol bill, which would unilaterally scrap the key parts of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal affecting the region. Some in the British government believe “sovereignty purists” in the Conservative party are taking a tougher line on any overhaul of the protocol than the Democratic Unionist party.

The DUP, which is boycotting the region’s devolved government in protest at the protocol, set “seven tests” for assessing any deal, but did not explicitly mention the ECJ. One British official said: “There’s a risk the ERG out-DUP the DUP.” 

According to the FT, a key part of the deal would be the creation of a “green lane” at ports in the region, where goods coming from Great Britain and intended for sale in Northern Ireland would be subject to minimal checks. Goods from Great Britain and destined for sale in the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU would go through the “red lane” and be subject to closer inspections. 

An EU official said the two sides are “very close” to reaching an agreement on the proposed green lane.

In a statement, the DUP said: “The checks on the Irish Sea border are the symptom of the underlying problem, namely, that Northern Ireland is subject to a different set of laws imposed upon us by a foreign entity without any say or vote by any elected representative of the people of Northern Ireland.” 

The DUP has said it will not return to Stormont, which it has been boycotting since elections last May, until there is a deal that meets its demands.