EU, U.K. reach post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland

The agreement could end a dispute that has soured U.K.-EU relations and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.

The U.K. and the European Union ended years of wrangling on Monday, sealing a deal to resolve their thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed off on the deal at a meeting in Windsor England, and the pair held a news conference on Monday to announce the details.

The agreement could end a dispute that has soured U.K.-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.

Fixing it is a big victory for Sunak — but not the end of his troubles. Selling the deal to his own Conservative Party and its Northern Ireland allies may be a tougher struggle. Now Sunak awaits the judgment of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which is boycotting the region’s power-sharing government until the trade arrangements are changed to its satisfaction.

Sunak is due to make a statement to the House of Commons later setting out details of the deal.

Von der Leyen is due to have tea with King Charles III at Windsor Castle, 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of London. Buckingham Palace said the meeting was taking place on the government’s advice, leading critics to accuse Sunak of dragging the monarch, who is supposed to remain neutral, into a political row.

A government source said Sunak had agreed the terms with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they met at a hotel west of London. They will hold a joint news conference at 1530 GMT.

The agreement marks a high-risk strategy for Sunak who has been looking to secure a compromise and improve relations with Brussels – and the United States – without sufficiently angering the wing of his party most wedded to Brexit.