Sunak will meet EU chief tomorrow as Raab says UK and Brussels 'on the cusp' of new Brexit deal

26 February 2023, 13:58 | Updated: 26 February 2023, 17:59

Rishi Sunak will seek to finalise his new Brexit deal in talks with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tomorrow.

The prime minister is seeking to tweak the Northern Ireland Protocol within the current withdrawal agreement to smooth out the movement of goods between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

Downing Street wrote on Sunday: "Today, president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, 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."

The government's announcement came hours after deputy PM Dominic Raab said the UK is "on the cusp" of securing a new Brexit deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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Mr Raab said he hoped that an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol would come in "a matter of days not weeks".

The Cabinet minister also made indications as to what the new deal could contain, including a so-called "green lane" for GB goods passing into Northern Ireland with lighter checks to ease friction on trade.

In a message apparently directly at the Democratic Unionist Party and Tory Eurosceptics who want to see an end to the European Court of Justice oversight of disputes over Northern Ireland, Mr Raab argued: “If we can scale back some of the regulatory checks that apply and some of the paperwork that applies, that would in itself involve a significant, a substantial, scaling back for the role of ECJ."

He also suggested that a mechanism to tackle the "democratic deficit" in the protocol had been negotiated, giving the Northern Ireland Assembly a say over any new European Union rules that would affect Northern Ireland, which the DUP sees as a key test.

Rishi Sunak had said the UK government was "giving it everything" to secure a deal.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Mr Sunak said: "There's unfinished business on Brexit and I want to get the job done,"adding that it was vital to ensure that there was a return to power-sharing.

The PM said he would to resolve the concerns of the Democratic Unionist Party, which has made plain its fears about the European Union retaining influence over Northern Ireland.

In protest at the impact the Brexit is having on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, the DUP is currently refusing to take part in the cross-community devolved government in Stormont alongside Sinn Fein.

The party has set seven tests that Mr Sunak's pact will have to meet to win its support.

This includes addressing what the party calls the "democratic deficit" of NI being subject to European Union rules but not having a say on them.

Mr Sunak vowed that in terms of Unionist concerns, "anything that we do will tick all of those boxes".

Irish PM Leo Varadkar said a post-Brexit deal was "inching towards a conclusion".

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"I think the talks on reforming the protocol are inching towards a conclusion," the Taoiseach said.

"Certainly the deal isn't done yet, but I do think we are inching towards a conclusion.

"There is the possibility of agreement in the next few days but by no means guaranteed... There's still a gap to be closed," Mr Varadkar said.

He thanked the UK government, the European Commission, and the Northern Ireland parties for the "level of engagement that they've done in recent months to get us to this point".

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