UK releases new plan to halt routine checks on goods from Britain to Northern Ireland

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The UK released plans on a new deal Wednesday that would bring no routine checks on goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, a move that paves the way for power-sharing to return to Stormont.

The 80-page Safeguarding the Union deal was published by the UK government after an agreement with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The DUP announced Tuesday that it agreed to endorse a deal to restore power-sharing in Stormont, Northern Ireland's parliament.

The DUP had boycotted Stormont for nearly two years in protest of trade arrangements after Brexit.

The new plan, expected to be voted on Thursday, will further reduce checks and paperwork on goods going from Great Britain -- England, Scotland and Wales -- to Northern Ireland.

Meaning that there will be no post-Brexit checks on British items which are staying in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Protocol, the first trade deal with the EU after Brexit, was seeking checks on goods from Great Britain coming into Northern Ireland.

That led the DUP to boycott Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration at Stormont, bringing a political deadlock.

Although it was amended by a new protocol in 2023, called the Windsor Framework, the DUP announced opposition to the plan.

Speaking in the Commons on the new deal, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said that the deal is the "right one" for Northern Ireland and the Union.

"With this package, it is now time for elected representatives in Northern Ireland to come together to end the two years of impasse and start to work again in the interests of the people who elected them," he said.

Heaton-Harris added that it is time "to build on the progress of the last 25 years," and the plan will deliver the long-term change that Northern Ireland needs.

The Northern Ireland secretary said the package of measures further protects Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, promotes and strengthens the UK internal market, will recognize the importance of the connections across the UK and will help put public services on a sustainable footing, with funding totaling more than £3 billion ($3.8 billion) to support Northern Ireland’s public services.