The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jeffrey Donaldson, called it “unacceptable” today in the British House of Commons for European laws to be passed in Northern Ireland without any prior mutual approval.
He then asked Sunak if the British prime minister could assure him that these constitutional issues would be addressed “and not just by slightly adjusting the Brexit protocol,” Donaldson said. “But by rewriting the entire binding treaty.”
‘loud and clear’
Sunak said he understood the question “loud and clear” and had asked policy makers about the possibilities relating to the constitutional and legal framework in which the Northern Ireland Protocol exists. He would like to change it. “It’s an essential part of negotiations with the European Union,” said Sunak, who declined to discuss the details.
That Sunak faces a challenge can be called an understatement. Representatives of the UK government and the European Union have indicated that the existing Brexit treaty will not be changed in any way if a deal is reached. Instead, it makes more sense for the UK and the EU to change their laws to implement a possible new Northern Ireland protocol.