After two years of stop and start negotiations over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a breakthrough was made and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the “Windsor Framework” on 27th February.
03 Mar 2023, 4 min read
What is the “Windsor Framework”?
The “Windsor Framework” set out the new arrangements for the Northern Ireland Protocol, designed to:
- restore the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market,
- safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, and
- address the democratic deficit.
The three main changes are
- New simplified arrangements for GB-NI trade:
- The introduction of a Green Lane for goods deemed “not at risk” of passing into the EU Single Market. Goods passing through this lane will not be subject to full EU Customs Code rules and instead a simplified set of commercial information can be used to move goods.
- Under the Windsor Framework it has been agreed that certain categories of parcel movements will automatically not be considered at risk of moving into the EU and therefore can use the green lane. These are consumer to consumer parcels and business to consumer parcels.
- Rules changes that safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the Union
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