Hopes are growing that the UK and the EU can achieve a breakthrough in Northern Ireland trade talks after Brexit, with sources suggesting a major announcement could be made next week.
I It was said that the negotiators could argue that an agreement to settle the dispute under the Northern Ireland Protocol was within reach and that the negotiations would enter a more tense final phase known as the “tunnel”.
But the sources also insisted that the current “bulk” talks were still close to the unofficial deadline of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday deal, and that an announcement was also out of the question.
Complicated protocol negotiations affected relations after Brexit. But the growing optimism comes after Rishi Sunak celebrated three years since Brexit on Tuesday, insisting that he is “on the path of an independent nation with confidence.”
The prime minister is credited with improving relations with the EU in his first 100 days in office and paving the way for an agreement on the protocol.
This was stated by the conservative leader of the committee of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Simon Hoare. I The prospects for an agreement were “essentially helped” by the improvement in Anglo-Irish relations, which he attributed in part to the understanding, mutual respect, “openness and courtesy” of Mr. Sunak and the Taoist Leo Varadkar.
He also said the need to demonstrate Western unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a new atmosphere in the talks.
Mr Hoare said: “I think the prognosis is very good.”
He added that his “gut feeling” is that the negotiators are “in the tunnel and have been in the tunnel for quite some time.”
“Because with the economy as it is, with the need for the West to present a united front to Putin, there is no possibility of doing nothing at all, dignity must come to a mutually acceptable end.”
But Mr Hoare acknowledged that the political process in Northern Ireland may need to be reformed if the deal is to survive after contact with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which boycotted power-sharing at Stormont in protest of the protocol.
He said: “There is growing sentiment that if either side refuses to return to Stormont, we will change the rules. This must be done with the consent of Dublin, it must be done with the support of the majority of parties in Northern Ireland.”
It came as Mr Sunak insisted that his government had begun making key Brexit victories during his tenure, including the introduction of free ports, financial regulatory reforms and the upcoming and controversial repeal of EU law.
The prime minister also underlined progress in developing a national alternative to the Horizon Europe science cooperation program despite the UK suing the EU over its decision to freeze the country over a protocol dispute.
The introduction of a new system for regulating corporate subsidies was also seen as a Brexit victory under Sunak.
But the prime minister added: “This is just the beginning of our plans to meet our five priorities, which include growing the economy so we can create better paying jobs. companies across the country.
The number of EU environmental laws due to be repealed or replaced by the end of 2023 has tripled.
The number of environmental laws the government needs to reform, replace or repeal by the end of the year has tripled initial estimates, according to official figures.
The EU Conservation (Repeal and Reform) Bill Government Dashboard now has 1,781 environmental laws pending, up from 570 originally estimated and 1,100 later announced by Environment Minister Teresa Coffey in November.
The laws are slated as part of a plan to replace or repeal some 4,000 EU rules by the end of 2023, which campaigners warn could leave gaps in key protections.
Under pressure from conservative Brexit supporters such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, the government has repeatedly had to deny that it could delay the process in many areas until 2026.
Ruth Chambers of the Greener UK coalition stated: “The goal of repealing or reforming so much environmental legislation in 11 months is not only reckless, it is a huge waste of public resources.
“Design errors will occur and important laws will be missing. It is impossible to see how the continuation of such an arrogant approach will lead to the achievement of the prime minister’s stated goals of honesty and accountability.”
Source: I News
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