London and Brussels come together on Northern Ireland

Following the last meeting in Brussels between Boris Johnson's number two, Michael Gove, and Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, a principle of agreement has been reached on the situation in Northern Ireland, but there is concern about where the other aspects stand. The rapprochement on the implementation of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol will mean that no physical borders need to be established on the island of Ireland next month, which the European Commission has welcomed. The questions concerning the presence of Community officials on the territory of Northern Ireland during the implementation of the Protocol have also been agreed.

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has backed out of some of the clauses of the Internal Market Act – 44, 45 and 47 – and has given an undertaking that he will not go in that direction in subsequent legislation. These clauses allowed the UK to unilaterally break the agreement with the European Union over the Irish border. These clauses would be against international law, so the EU was already working legally on the issue. 

Although the bill was rejected in the House of Lords in early November, where the Conservative Party does not have a majority, it seemed that the intention was to reintroduce the clauses on their return to the House of Commons, where Boris Johnson does have the necessary support. Finally, the agreement between Brussels and London yesterday has restored optimism in this respect.

However, the closeness of this fringe does not mean that the possibility of no agreement before the end of the year is high. Nevertheless, both Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British leader Boris Johnson will meet today to try to prevent a definitive exit without agreement. Both have expressed the willingness of their teams to continue working until 31 December to make the exit as "painless as possible". They also point out that the negotiations can be extended through 2021, but that it is necessary for the United Kingdom to accept the basis proposed by the European Union in order to make the process as painless as possible.

During the EUCO that begins this day in Brussels, some European leaders have already made statements on the situation of Brexit. The Swedish Prime Minister said that "we are preparing for the worst". There are several aspects that will be dealt with at this European Council, in addition to Brexit, as other issues such as sanctions against Turkey are on the table.