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Northern Ireland Brexit deal: At-a-glance

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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
. Deal.