Northern Irish unionists reject Sunak’s deal with the EU

Northern Irish Protestants maintain their all-or-nothing position. Leader of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)Jeffrey Donaldson, announced on Monday that the formation will oppose in Parliament the agreement that London and Brussels he arrived at the end of February, in order to solve problems arising from the application of the protocol Brexit because Northern Ireland caused trade in the territory.

“He windsor frame it doesn’t address some of the underlying problems (…) We hope the government will ensure there are more laws to protect Northern Ireland’s place within the UK and its internal market,” Donaldson told the BBC. Among the problems that the politician believes have remained unresolved is the application of community legislation. For the DUP leader, the “Stormont brake”, a clause that allows the autonomous parliament to block the entry into force in Northern Ireland of any regulation approved by the twenty-seven from now, is not enough.

“Although it represents progress, the brake does not solve the fundamental problem which is the imposition of EU law (…) [el freno] it cannot be applied to laws already in force,” he complained.

The announcement does not pose a threat to the deal as Labor’s pledged support for the text ensures its approval in the House of Commons.

However, the news is a a double whammy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Firstly because he went to great lengths to sell the pact to all the Northern Irish forces; and secondly, because it removes any chance of re-establishing shared government in Northern Ireland before April 10, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended violence in the region.

The regional executive has been paralyzed since the DUP dissolved its coalition with Sinn Féin last year.