Northern Irish unionists reach agreement to end government boycott

The return to government of the region's largest unionist party offers a way out of a crisis that posed an existential threat to the political settlement underpinning the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal, and also puts an end to one of the most difficult aspects of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

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Parliament of Northern Ireland, Photo: REUTERS
Parliament of Northern Ireland, Photo: REUTERS
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Northern Ireland's main unionist party said Tuesday it supports an agreement with the British government that would end the region's long-standing government boycott.

Northern Ireland has been without a government for almost two years after the DUP walked out in protest at trade rules it claims create barriers with the rest of the UK and undermine Northern Ireland's place within it.

The return to government of the region's largest unionist party offers a way out of a crisis that posed an existential threat to the political settlement underpinning the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal, and also puts an end to one of the most difficult aspects of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

A vote within the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to back the deal at a closed-door meeting in Lisburn, near Belfast, forms the basis for a renewal of the Northern Ireland Assembly after almost two years, DUP leader Geoffrey Donaldson said.

However, he added, ending the DUP's veto on restoring a divided executive in Stormont, Northern Ireland's parliament, was conditional on the British government passing the bill, as well as a final agreement on the timeline.

Details of the agreement will be announced soon, Donaldson said without giving further details.

If approved, the deal would allow the DUP and the pro-Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin to elect a speaker of the Assembly next week.

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill is expected to become first minister, the first time a republican has held the post since her party overtook the DUP in the last general election in May 2022.

The DUP left the executive in February 2022 in protest at the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland known as the "Windsor Framework".

The agreement was reached by Great Britain and the European Union in order to solve the problems of the previous agreement, the Protocol on Northern Ireland.

According to hardline unionists, the Windsor Framework rules do not go far enough in protecting Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom and keep the region still partly under EU law and on the path to Irish unity.

During protracted negotiations with London, the DUP sought to change the rules, including reducing the amount of checks on goods traveling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

It paralyzed the institutions of Northern Ireland, where power is divided, and triggered political uncertainty.

London has offered the region a 3,3 billion pound ($4,2 billion) financial package to resolve disputes over public service payments on the condition that Stormont continues to function.

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