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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference
Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
In the dispute over the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK Prime Minister has rejected reports of an agreement with the European Union.
"No, no deal has been decided yet," said Rishi Sunak on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.
Nevertheless, after a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the conference, he expressed cautious optimism: everyone agreed that there was very good progress.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal between Brussels and London.
It provides for special customs rules for Northern Ireland in order to keep the border between the British province and the EU state of Ireland open.
This is also intended to prevent the decades-long and bloody conflict there from flaring up again.
However, the agreement has created a de facto customs border separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
There is strong resistance to this.
A "real" deal, not a "rushed" one
According to commentators, Sunak does not want to alienate the Brexit hardliners in his Conservative Party with his reluctance.
Among other things, they refuse to allow the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to have the last word on Northern Ireland issues.
The Northern Irish supporters of the union with Great Britain are not yet convinced either.
The current status of negotiations falls short, quoted the British news agency PA on Saturday from a letter from the head of the most important Protestant-unionist party DUP, Jeffrey Donaldson.
"I made it clear to the Prime Minister that it is important that he agree to a real deal and not a rushed deal," Donaldson wrote.
The DUP calls for the end of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
The British province of Northern Ireland has been without a functioning government since February 2022 because the pro-British DUP refused to participate in the executive branch in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The deadline for forming a government actually expired at the end of October 2022.
London has extended it several times since then, most recently by up to a year in the past week.
jpz/dpa/Reuters
