After four months of secret negotiations, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the so-called "Windsor Framework" (Windsor Framework) in Windsor Castle, UK. , to resolve the Northern Ireland border control issue that has been the most controversial with the EU since the Brexit referendum.
During this period, Von der Leyen called Xin Weicheng "Dear Rishi", which eliminated the previous alienation from former prime ministers Johnson (Boris Johnson) and Zhuo Hui'en (Liz Truss).
Although Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party and even the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, which supports the United Kingdom, have doubts about the agreement, in addition to the royal blessing in the name of "Windsor", this framework has also been supported by Charles III of the United Kingdom ( King Charles III's indirect endorsement through "afternoon tea" with Von der Leyen seems to be unstoppable.
If Xin Weicheng can suppress the opposition of Eurosceptics in the party, and even win the support of the Democratic Unionist Party and give up its boycott of the Northern Ireland Parliament, the "Windsor Framework" will be Xin Weicheng's first major political achievement after he took office. It will also sweep away the tension between Britain and Europe after Brexit in one fell swoop, and open a new page for British-European diplomacy in the post-Brexit era.
From this point of view, although Johnson won the election at the end of 2019 with the slogan "Get Brexit Done", it is likely Xin Weicheng who actually got Brexit done.
Xin Weicheng and von der Leyen announced the "Windsor Frame" under the portrait of George V (George V), who was the king who opened the Northern Ireland Parliament in 1921, with the hope that the two factions in Northern Ireland will reconcile means.
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Johnson's version of "get Brexit done" is basically a betrayal of the pro-British Protestants in Northern Ireland. In order to avoid border inspections on the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland will remain in the EU single market and implement "one country, two systems" Institutional separation from Great Britain.
This move aroused dissatisfaction from the Democratic Unionist Party, which has been fighting for the abolition of the so-called "Northern Ireland Protocol" (Northern Ireland Protocol), and even boycotted the Northern Ireland Parliament because of this, leaving Northern Ireland in a long-term "state of anarchy".
One of Johnson's famous sayings is "My policy on cakes is to support having cakes and eating cakes at the same time." mean.
During his tenure, the foreign secretary who was also tough on the EU, that is, his "short-lived" successor, Zhuo Huien, pushed for legislation that would allow the UK to unilaterally tear up Irish border control powers.
This move is generally regarded as a violation of international law in the UK and abroad, but it is in the favor of Eurosceptics.
In the end, Johnson and Zhuo Huisi's "unfinished business" have sadly stepped down.
After Johnson stepped down, there have been rumors of a "comeback".
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After the more pragmatic Xin Weicheng took office, it was reported that he hit it off with Von der Leyen at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt last November. The latter knew that the other party was a pragmatic person willing to solve problems, which was very different from Johnson and others.
As a result, the British and European sides launched close negotiations.
The two sides held secret talks in the little-known EU office building in Brussels for a long time, avoiding the interference of public opinion, and finally made a public communique after reaching the details.
The agreement has achieved three major developments, one is to remove the substantive issues of border inspections between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, the other is to relax some restrictions on the single market for the UK, and the third is to give the Northern Ireland Parliament a temporary suspension of EU laws in Northern Ireland. power to enforce.
First of all, in the past, most of the goods shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland had to go through strict border inspections, but under the new system of the "Windsor Framework", the goods will be divided into green and red. The former will only stay in Northern Ireland, and the latter will be allowed It can be shipped to Ireland or the European Union, and the goods passing through the green channel will be able to bypass most of the cumbersome inspections.
At the same time, the EU has also accepted the UK's food hygiene standards, and only requires that the products it sends to Northern Ireland be marked with the words "not for the EU".
Such arrangements will substantially eliminate the hassle of border control in Northern Ireland.
King Charles received von der Leyen.
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Secondly, the British government has also regained most of the freedom to provide government subsidies to Ireland without approval from the European Union, and the British side can also implement British value-added tax on Northern Ireland, as long as the value-added tax rate is not lower than the lowest level in the European Union—— In the future, the two sides will also negotiate to increase the range of goods that the UK can cross this limit.
In addition, dissatisfied with the automatic implementation of EU single market laws in Northern Ireland, the "Windsor Framework" proposed the "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Braking Mechanism" (Stormont Brake), as long as there are at least 30 members from both parties in the 90 members of Parliament Raising a dispute can suspend the implementation of specific EU laws in Northern Ireland, and the UK and the EU will start follow-up negotiations for this. If the UK insists on not implementing them, the EU can only respond with remedial measures.
However, the European Court of Justice still retains the final interpretation of EU laws in Northern Ireland, and is also the supervisor of the implementation of the "Northern Ireland Protocol". place.
At present, the British people have long been tired of all the troubles of Brexit, and more than 50% think that Brexit is a mistake, while only 30% continue to support Brexit.
Eurosceptics, even Johnson, once hoped to use Xin Weicheng's Northern Ireland agreement as an opportunity to attack, and there was even news that a cabinet official might resign because of it.
However, with such sentiments and the fact that the Conservative Party is still far behind the Labor Party in popularity, there is no room for a repeat of the intra-party political struggle during last year's leadership election. Eurosceptics in the party now seem to be inclined to accept the "Windsor Framework".
Xin Weicheng went to Northern Ireland to meet with the business community. During the period, he talked about the benefits of Northern Ireland's access to the EU market. Some commentators ridiculed him, who had always supported Brexit, and suddenly became a "remainer".
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Moreover, Xin Weicheng not only retained Zhuo Huisi's Minister of Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris to participate in the negotiations, in order to silence the Eurosceptics, but also specially invited to represent the views of the Eurosceptics, in the article During the Theresa May era, David Davis, who resigned as Brexit Secretary to protest against "soft Brexit", lobbied.
Today, former Brexit secretary David Frost, who is highly respected among Conservative grassroots voters, seems to agree that the Conservative Party should support the agreement, saying that although the plan does not "take back control", it "helps".
In addition to not attending the announcement of Xin Weicheng's plan in the House of Commons, Johnson did not "lead the rebellion".
In a future parliamentary vote, the Conservatives are likely to pass the deal against a small number of eurosceptics, without the support of the opposition Labor Party.
This is very different from the initial expectation that as many as 100 MPs would oppose it.
Since the agreement theoretically does not need to pass through the Congress, Xin Weicheng insisted on letting the Congress vote in order to prove that he really has the ability to control the party, not just a transitional figure who is ordered in a crisis.
Even though the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland is still "studying" the plan, it may not give up the boycott of the Northern Ireland Parliament, but Xin Weicheng has shown enough confidence that he will not amend the agreement for the Democratic Unionist Party under questioning by the media, " This framework is between us and the EU."
If the "Windsor Framework" is successfully passed, the Eurosceptic arrogance of the Conservative Party will be greatly frustrated.
The "anti-European" political drama of the British right since the Brexit controversy will be further marginalized.
However, did Xin Weicheng really get Brexit done?
actually not.
The Conservative Party is now continuing to push legislation to repeal all EU law across the board by 2023.
A one-size-fits-all approach would cause major legal confusion, as EU law has long been conflated with UK law.
However, Xin Weicheng, who had previously supported the European faction, has always supported this method.
Will the success of "Windsor Framework" make Xin Weicheng turn to see the actual benefits of pragmatism?
It is unknown today.
However, the success of "Windsor Framework" shows that Xin Weicheng is indeed a figure who may "get Brexit done".
Can Britain and Europe reach a new Northern Ireland agreement to solve the "hard border" problem? Can it effectively dispel the doubts of all parties?
The UK and the EU have reached a new agreement on the "Windsor Framework" for local goods shipped to Northern Ireland to be exempted from inspection. The UK and the EU agree to amend the Northern Ireland trade agreement.
