Brexit: Work to do on protocol deal, says prime minister

BBC News:

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the trade deal that was agreed to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border after Brexit.

It is at the heart of a political impasse in Northern Ireland, with unionist parties arguing that placing an effective trade border across the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.

The largest of those parties is the DUP which refuses to take part in Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government – introduced in the 1990s as a way of ending decades of violence – unless its concerns are resolved.

Speaking after his meeting with the prime minister, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had yet to see the final text of an agreement but that “clearly this is a big moment”.

“The next generation of Northern Ireland and its people requires us all, I think, collectively to use our best efforts – particularly the prime minister and the European Commission president – to get these issues resolved and to get to a place where the political institutions can be restored.”

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said it was her understanding that “very significant progress has been made” and it was “game on”.

“I believe that a deal is absolutely possible and absolutely necessary and I hope that we see a speedy successful conclusion to matters,” she told reporters.