RISHI Sunak’s Windsor Framework marks another chapter in the Brexit saga.The framework aims to ensure that there is considerably less paperwork and checks on goods entering Northern Ireland.
It also contains a protocol called the Stormont Brake which will allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to temporarily stop any changes to EU goods regulations from applying in Northern Ireland if the Assembly believes they would create "significant and lasting effects on everyday lives".
READ MORE: New NI framework, same question: Why not us too?
But amid all the news around it in the UK, what are the international community saying?
OVERSEAS PAPERS
FRENCH paper Le Monde called British voters “exploited” over Brexit and said they had “Europhobia”. It also said Brexit had a chaotic history and that Sunak was “turning the page”.
It continued: “For Sunak, it represents an audacious gamble: to end the feud with the EU at a time when a majority of Britons have become aware of the harmful consequences of Brexit and say they regret the result of the 2016 referendum vote.”
Spanish paper El Pais said the deal brought an end to Britain and the EU’s “thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland”.
It called the Windsor Framework the “most sought-after and elusive deal of the last two years”. They aren’t wrong there.
Converses a Catalunya said: “In recent years, Brexit has been a drama, a true earthquake with aftershocks that has prevented the return of common sense to British politics.”
It also blamed the Conservative party for the failures of Brexit in the same article, saying David Cameron “arrogantly” called the 2016 referendum. Also in for criticism are Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and “ineffable far-right liar” Nigel Farage over their role in the “madness.”
But praise is heaped on Sunak, for his ability to “recover common sense” to Brexit.
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS
THE plan was praised by the Republic of Ireland’s Tánaiste (depute head of government) and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, who in a statement said: “This new agreement, the ‘Windsor Framework’ is the result of genuine engagement, and of the EU and UK working together and listening to the concerns raised by elected representatives, citizens and business in Northern Ireland.
“From the outset, we have always said that the only sustainable outcome is one based on jointly agreed solutions.
“I heard first-hand the concerns of many unionists. I believe they will see in this a genuine response to their genuine concerns.
“This new Framework will, for example, ensure that the same food will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the UK. Medicines will also be available to people in Northern Ireland at the same time and under the same conditions as the rest of the UK.
“Working together the EU and the UK have ensured that Northern Ireland benefits by having unique access to both the EU single market and the UK’s internal market. The consensus reached today between the EU and the UK will provide the certainty and stability that Northern Ireland needs in order to move forward.”
Across the Atlantic, opinion was also positive. US president Joe Biden, whose ancestral routes are in Ireland, was very pleased with the agreement, citing what it could mean for the Good Friday Agreement.
He said: "Today’s announcement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the Windsor Framework is an essential step to ensuring that the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is preserved and strengthened.
“I appreciate the efforts of the leaders and officials on all sides who worked tirelessly to find a way forward that protects Northern Ireland’s place within the UK’s internal market as well as the EU’s single market, to the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland.
“I am confident the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities created by this stability and certainty, and the United States stands ready to support the region’s vast economic potential.
“Joe Kennedy, our new Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, will drive this effort in close cooperation with Ambassador Jane Hartley in London and Ambassador Claire Cronin in Dublin, as well as with business leaders in Northern Ireland.
“Northern Ireland can accomplish the extraordinary when its leaders work together in common cause. And I hope – as we all do – that Northern Ireland’s political institutions are soon back up and running. Those institutions embody the principle of devolved, power-sharing, representative government at the core of the Good Friday Agreement.
“As Northern Ireland prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Agreement in April, let us remember that ending decades of conflict was not easy or inevitable. It required hard work and determination, and an unfailing faith that a better future was possible.
“Today, an entire generation of young people has grown up knowing only possibility and growing prosperity—the hard-earned dividend of peace. I am deeply proud of the role the United States has played for decades to help achieve, preserve, and strengthen that peace enshrined in the Agreement. And I look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners in Northern Ireland, the Governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the European Union, to further that peace and prosperity.”
EMBASSIES
OTHER EU members have also piped in with their thoughts on the plan and its execution, such as France.
Relations between France and the UK have been strained since Brexit.
Speaking ahead of the first Franco-British summit in five years, a French Embassy spokesperson said: “The Windsor Agreement that has arisen is an important decision enabling us to preserve the Good Friday Agreement and protecting the European internal market, as President Macron has said.
“It also creates a favourable environment for the Franco-British summit. We pay tribute to the work done by the European Commission and the United Kingdom to maintain these shared goals for the European Union’s future.
“It’s a positive development that not only respects everyone’s legitimate interests but also allows us to turn a new page.”
German ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger said: “It preserves the Good Friday Agreement, it preserves east-west trade, it means that the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland can stay open, so I think it achieves all the main objectives. What I hear very often from businesspeople in Northern Ireland is what they need is predictability and stability and I think the Windsor Framework can achieve that.
“We understand the sensitivities of the DUP and other unionists but at the same time I think we need a compromise which allows us to have the necessary confidence in the agreement, and I think this has been achieved.”
The UK and Germany began having annual strategic discussions in January, promising to work closer together.
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