Face-to-face negotiations between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen are scheduled, and it is anticipated that they will reach an agreement to settle a contentious post-Brexit trade issue.
After months of intense dispute that have strained ties between the UK and the EU, caused the regional administration in Belfast to fall, and threatened to stall the decades-old peace process in Northern Ireland, it would represent a breakthrough.
In a joint statement on Sunday the UK and the EU said European Commission President von der Leyen will travel to Britain on Monday so the leaders can work toward “shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
Following years of Brexit debate, the Northern Ireland Protocol conflicts further strained already strained ties between the UK and EU. The EU deemed the British government's plan to unilaterally rip up portions of the Brexit agreement through a bill unlawful. The EU charged that the UK had violated the legally binding agreement it had signed.
Once pragmatic Brexit supporter Sunak replaced his more combative predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson in office in October, relations between London and Europe improved.
An agreement would enable Sunak to "get Brexit done" in a way that eluded Johnson, who won a resounding election victory in 2019 on that precise slogan, three years after British citizens narrowly decided to leave the EU in a referendum.
After months of intense dispute that have strained ties between the UK and the EU, caused the regional administration in Belfast to fall, and threatened to stall the decades-old peace process in Northern Ireland, it would represent a breakthrough.
In a joint statement on Sunday the UK and the EU said European Commission President von der Leyen will travel to Britain on Monday so the leaders can work toward “shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
Following years of Brexit debate, the Northern Ireland Protocol conflicts further strained already strained ties between the UK and EU. The EU deemed the British government's plan to unilaterally rip up portions of the Brexit agreement through a bill unlawful. The EU charged that the UK had violated the legally binding agreement it had signed.
Once pragmatic Brexit supporter Sunak replaced his more combative predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson in office in October, relations between London and Europe improved.
An agreement would enable Sunak to "get Brexit done" in a way that eluded Johnson, who won a resounding election victory in 2019 on that precise slogan, three years after British citizens narrowly decided to leave the EU in a referendum.
