Northern Ireland Protocol: Rishi Sunak to meet Ursula von der Leyen for talks

Northern Ireland Protocol: Rishi Sunak to meet Ursula von der Leyen for talks

Rishi Sunak is to hold face-to-face talks with the European Commission president as he tries to secure a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

The PM and Ursula von der Leyen said they will meet in the UK on Monday to discuss the "complex challenges" of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The UK wants to change the protocol, which sees some goods checked when entering from the rest of the UK.

Dominic Raab earlier said Britain and the EU were "on the cusp" of a deal.

In a joint statement, the pair said they had "agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland".text. Let us run it by our lawyers. Let us fully understand what it means. Then, at that point, we might be ready to vote on it."

But former Prime Minister John Major urged Conservative and DUP MPs to not let concerns over the European Court of Justice get in the way of easing trade and restoring the devolved government in Northern Ireland.

He told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour: "Their involvement would be tiny... occasional involvement of the ECJ really ought not to stop an agreement being made.

"They talk of democracy. Democracy is thrown away when that [Northern Ireland] Assembly is not sitting. We need them back."

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What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The Northern Ireland Protocol is a trading arrangement, negotiated during Brexit talks. It allows goods to be transported across the Irish land border without the need for checks.

Before Brexit, it was easy to transport goods across this border because both sides followed the same EU rules. After the UK left, special trading arrangements were needed because Northern Ireland has a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.

The EU has strict food rules and requires border checks when certain goods - such as milk and eggs - arrive from non-EU countries.

The land border is a sensitive issue because of Northern Ireland's troubled political history. It was feared that cameras or border posts - as part of these checks - could lead to instability.

The UK and the EU agreed that protecting the Northern Ireland peace deal - the Good Friday agreement - was an absolute priority.

So, both sides signed the Northern Ireland Protocol as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

It is now part of international law.