1 of 3 | British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton Harris held talks with the five main political parties on Friday in a push to resolve a two-year impasse over post-Brexit trading arrangements that place the province inside the EU Single Market for customs purposes. Photo courtesy Michelle O'Neill/
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Feb. 17 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in Northern Ireland on Friday for talks with political leaders to resolve an impasse over trading arrangements with the European Union that has effectively left the country without a government for the past two years.
Sunak was also due to fly to Munich to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend on the sidelines of an international security conference, while Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was in Brussels holding talks with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic.
The talks amid a flurry of diplomatic activity are raising hopes that a British-EU compromise deal is about to be struck over the so-called Northern Ireland protocol that is acceptable to pro-British parties in the province.
The protocol, designed to avoid a hard land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland which is part of the EU, moves the border with the EU to the middle of the Irish Sea instead -- preventing free movement of goods from other parts of Britain.
The Democratic Unionist Party, the second largest party in Northern Ireland, has refused to participate in a power-sharing government with Sinn Fein, the largest party, since 2021 in protest over the protocol which they argue treats Northern Ireland differently than other parts of Britain.
"Whilst talks with the EU are ongoing, ministers continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure any solution fixes the practical problems on the ground, meets our overarching objectives and safeguards Northern Ireland's place in the U.K.'s internal market," a Downing Street spokesman said.
The prime minister and secretary of state for Northern Ireland were also traveling to take part in the discussions with the political parties, the spokesman said.
A policy paper shared by the British government in July proposed a check-free "green" lane for goods destined for Northern Ireland and a "red" lane for goods passing through the province en route to the Irish Republic.
The DUP remained highly skeptical of such a deal.
"The fundamental issue to be dealt with is the democratic deficit and the constitutional damage caused by the imposition of EU law," MP for East Antrim Sammy Wilson said in a tweet. "If that is not dealt with then any proposed deal is worthless."
But Nationalist parties hailed the prospect of a deal.
"This is the opportunity to say yes to a deal, yes to restoring devolution, yes to getting back to work," SDLP leader Colum Eastwood tweeted ahead of the talks with Sunak. "That's what people need and deserve."
