UK strikes deal with EU over post-Brexit trade arrangements for N.Ireland

BERKSHIRE, UK (AA) - The UK and the European Union on Monday struck a new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, coming to an agreement after more than a year of disputes over post-Brexit trade arrangements, government sources told local media.

Details of the deal will be unveiled soon as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to hold a press conference in Berkshire, southeastern England.

Sunak last week said that the government was still in intensive talks with the EU to resolve the longstanding Northern Ireland Protocol issue, saying: "I am a Conservative, a Brexiter, and a unionist. Any deal must tick all three boxes."

Any deal, he told parliament, “needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland and is to safeguard its place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses. I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.”

- Northern Ireland Protocol

The Northern Ireland Protocol necessitates border checks on any animal and plant-based products, including frozen meat and processed meat products, before their transport to Northern Ireland, which is aligned with EU rules and regulations.

The protocol creates a de facto trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The UK left the bloc on Jan. 31, 2020, as a result of the 2016 Brexit referendum that ended the country’s 40-year-plus membership in the European club.

The agreement signed by the sides included the protocol, which practically avoided a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The protocol has been a thorn of contention between the sides.