Rishi Sunak set to shake on new Brexit deal with EU as soon as Monday
RISHI Sunak is preparing to shake on a new Brexit deal with the EU as soon as Monday, The Sun can reveal.
Brussels boss Ursula von der Leyen will likely visit the UK – with Windsor Castle lined up for a signing ceremony photo op.
Last night the PM hailed “some positive breakthroughs made” in negotiations over Northern Ireland trade rules that have sparked goods chaos in the province.
But he will spend the weekend briefing his Cabinet and the DUP of the terms of the new fix haggled with Brussels that could be dubbed the “Windsor Castle Agreement”.
Mr Sunak was also last night locked in talks with supermarkets and parcel operators about the problems the current deal causes with trade over the Irish sea.
Under the new deal the vast majority of goods going from the mainland to the province will be able to avoid Brexit checks – with invoice data uploaded to a trusted trader online portal.
But goods destined for the EU Single Market via the Irish republic will still have to be checked and comply with Brussels rules.
However hard-line unionists in the DUP say that changes must also apply to goods produced in Northern Ireland for export to the rest of the UK.
It is not yet clear how much progress Mr Sunak has been able to make on this sticking point with the EU but has been thought to secured concessions on VAT rules.
Brussels are determined to make sure Northern Ireland remains aligned to EU rules to reduce the risk of non-EU compliant goods entering the Single Market.
Last night Foreign secretary James Cleverly said ministers would not sign off on a deal unless the DUP’s concerns had been “addressed“.
He told Times Radio: “So when, hopefully, we get those issues resolved then I would hope that the DUP would recognise that we’ve addressed their concerns.”
It’s expected that MPs will get a vote on the deal in the Commons next week – but if enough Tories vote against it then the PM will have to rely on Labour to get it through.
Tory critics are furious that the European Court of Justice is still expected to have some oversight over the rules governing manufacturing in Northern Ireland.