Northern Ireland Brexit deal: At-a-glance

27 February 2023

Brexit

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have announced a new deal, aimed at fixing post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland.

The full details of their agreement have been published.

Here is what we know about the agreement, named the Windsor Framework:

Green lane/red lane

Goods from Britain destined for Northern Ireland will travel through a new "green lane", with a separate "red lane" for goods at risk of moving onto the EU
Products coming into Northern Ireland through the green lane would see checks and paperwork significantly reduced
Red lane goods destined for the EU still be subject to normal checks
Mr Sunak said this would mean food available on the supermarket shelves in Great Britain will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland
New data-sharing and labelling arrangements would be used to oversee the new system
Where smuggling is suspected, some custom checks may still be carried out on green lane goods
Businesses moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain would not be required to complete export declarations
Bans on certain products - like chilled sausages - entering Northern Ireland from Britain would be scrapped
Bans also lifted on seed potatoes and 11 native British trees

Pets, parcels and medicines

No new requirements on moving pets from Northern Ireland to Britain
Pet owners visiting Northern Ireland from Britain (but not travelling on to Ireland) only have to confirm their pet is microchipped and will not move into the EU
Under old rules, pet owners had to have vet-issued health certificate and proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, while dogs needed tapeworm treatment before every visit
Medicines for use in Northern Ireland would be approved by UK regulator, with the European Medicines Agency not having any role
Parcels will not be subject to full custom declarations
From 2024, parcel operators required to share data with EU to manage smuggling risks

VAT and alcohol duty

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU VAT rules could be applied in Northern Ireland
Under the new deal, UK VAT and excise rules will apply to Northern Ireland for alcoholic drinks for immediate consumption and immovable goods such as heat pumps
EU VAT rules will still apply for other items

Stormont brake

Under the protocol, some EU law applies in Northern Ireland, but politicians had no formal way to influence the rules
New agreement reduces proportion of EU rules applied in Northern Ireland to less than 3%
European Court of Justice continues to be the final arbiter in disputes over these remaining rules
Deal introduces a "Stormont brake" which allows the Northern Ireland Assembly to raise an objection to a new goods rule
Process would be triggered if 30 MLAs (representatives in the Stormont) from two or more parties sign a petition
The brake cannot be used for "trivial reasons" but reserved for "significantly different" rules
Once the UK tells the EU the brake has been triggered, the rule cannot be implemented
It can only be applied if the UK and EU agree
This new process is not subject to oversight by the European Court of Justice oversight
Disputes would be resolved through independent arbitration
The EU has its own safeguard - if Northern Ireland starts to diverge significantly from the bloc's rules, the EU has power to take "appropriate remedial measures"

Northern Ireland Bill scrapped

Government has confirmed it is ditching the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
The controversial legislation, introduced under ex-PM Boris Johnson, would have given the UK the power to scrap the old protocol deal
Legal opinion published by the government says there is now "no legal justification" for going ahead with it