UK Government Publishes Documents On 'Windsor Framework'

Wires carrying comments from a UK gov't document on the 'Windsor Framework' announced earlier today that seeks to resolve the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol. Documents: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-win...https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...

The gov't confirms that the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would have allowed the gov't to unilaterally disapply the protocol in breach of international law, will no longer proceed.

• Gov't: To give businesses and individuals time to prepare, the implementation of the NI deal will be phased...Some of the new arrangements in NI deal for goods, agrifood, pets and plant movements will be introduced later this year, and the remainder in 2024.
• Gov't: agreement will mean the EU withdrawing all of the legal actions it has launched against the UK.
• Gov't: The Stormont brake will not be available for trivial reasons...there must be something significantly different about a new rule, whether in its content or scope.
• Gov't: Once the UK notifies the EU that the brake has been triggered, the rule in question is suspended automatically from coming into effect. Once triggered the UK has an unequivocal veto within the joint committee, enabling the rule to be permanently disapplied. This new safeguard in the treaty is not subject to ECJ oversight. Any dispute on this issue would be resolved through subsequent arbitration according to international, not EU, law.
• Gov't: Permanent disapplication of any EU rules would mean divergence between Northern Ireland and Ireland and the broader EU.