New NI Deal

From the BBC:

“Northern Ireland Brexit deal: At-a-glance”

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have announced they have reached a new deal, aimed at fixing post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland. The full details of their agreement have just been published, and we're working to get you a fuller picture of what's been decided. Here is what we know about the agreement, named the Windsor Framework, so far:

Green lane/red lane

Goods from Britain destined for Northern Ireland will travel through a new "green lane", with a separate "red lane" for goods at risk of moving onto the EU

Products coming into Northern Ireland through the green lane would see checks and paperwork scrapped

Red lane goods destined for the EU still be subject to normal checks

Mr Sunak said this would mean food available on the supermarket shelves in Great Britain will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland.

New data-sharing arrangements would be used to oversee the new system

Where smuggling is suspected, some custom checks may still be carried out on green lane goods

Business moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain would not be required to complete export declarations

Bans on certain products - like chilled sausages - entering Northern Ireland from Britain would be scrapped

 

Pets, parcels and medicines

No new requirements on moving pets from Northern Ireland to Britain

Pet owners visiting Northern Ireland from Britain (but not travelling on to Ireland) only have to confirm their pet is microchipped and will not move into the EU

Under old rules, pet owners had to have vet-issued health certificate and proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, while dogs needed tapeworm treatment before every visit

Medicines for use in Northern Ireland would be approved by UK regulator, with the European Medicines Agency not having any role

Parcels will not be subject to full custom declarations

 

VAT and alcohol duty

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU VAT rules could be applied in Northern Ireland

Under the new deal, Mr Sunak says the UK can make "critical VAT" changes which include Northern Ireland

For example if the government raises or cuts alcohol duty this will apply to pubs in Northern Ireland as well as the rest of the UK, he said

 

Stormont brake

Under the protocol, some EU law applies in Northern Ireland, but politicians had no formal way to influence the rules

New agreement introduces a "Stormont brake" which allows the Northern Ireland Assembly to raise an objection to a new rule

The process would be triggered if 30 MLAs (representatives in the Stormont Assembly) from two or more parties sign a petition

14 day consultation period would follow, after which, if 30 MLAs still support it, there would be a vote in the assembly

To pass, it would need support from both unionists and nationalist representatives

The brake cannot be used for "trivial reasons" but reserved for "significantly different" rules

Once the UK tells the EU the brake has been triggered, the rule cannot be implemented

It can only be applied if the UK and EU agree

This new process is not subject to oversight by the European Court of Justice oversight

The document states that: "Any dispute on this issue would be resolved through subsequent independent arbitration according to international, not EU, law."

The EU has its own safeguard - if Northern Ireland starts to diverge significantly from the bloc's rules, the EU has its own power to take "appropriate remedial measures"

 

Northern Ireland Bill scrapped

Government has confirmed it is ditching the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

The controversial legislation, introduced under ex-PM Boris Johnson, would have given the UK the power to scrap the old protocol deal

Legal opinion published by the government says there is now "no legal justification" for going ahead with it

^ This still seems like one big hot mess for the United Kingdom, for Northern Ireland, for Ireland and for the 26 other EU Member Countries. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64790193