Sunak appealed to the size of his job. “It’s my job to seize this opportunity, make the hard choices and give it my all,” Sunak told The Telegraph. “And I promise you this: I won’t sign any deal that doesn’t solve the problems for Northern Ireland and the UK.”
This weekend, Sunak will meet ministers, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland to break the deadlock over the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, which severely restricted trade from Brexit. According to insiders, a deal could be unveiled this week.
Main issues
According to Sunak, there are three main problems that need to be fixed first. For example, the British prime minister wants to see free trade throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland. Since Northern Ireland shares an island with the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU country, this causes problems.
Sunak also believes that Northern Ireland’s place in the UK must be respected and that the European Union cannot simply introduce new laws and regulations in Northern Ireland without first consulting the people of Northern Ireland.
Although Sunak is doing his best to break the impasse that has soured relations between the UK and the European Union, he is mainly opposed by his own party. Conservative Brexiteers and Northern Ireland Unionists strongly disagree on whether the European Union has a say in the situation, and are therefore concerned about the significant role the country will play for the UK in the future.