Northern Ireland deal could be struck in ‘matter of days’: Raab

BLOOMBERG

A deal with the European Union over trade barriers in Northern Ireland could be struck in the coming  days, deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said.
“Hopefully there’ll be good news in a matter of days, not weeks.” Raab said in an interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge. “We are not there yet. But we are obviously in a position where we are on the cusp of a deal.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he’s determined to get a deal done, but wouldn’t sign on to a plan that doesn’t resolve lingering problems from the original Brexit deal.
Sunak is holding talks with cabinet ministers, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, as he seeks to resolve an impasse over the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol that governs the region’s post-Brexit trade, people familiar with the matter said. A deal could be announced this week, the people said.
“My job is to seize this opportunity, confront the hard choices, and give everything I’ve got,” Sunak wrote in an opinion piece in the Telegraph. “And I promise you this: I won’t agree any deal which doesn’t fix the problems and deliver for Northern Ireland and our precious Union.”
Trade must be able to flow freely within the UK’s internal market, including Northern Ireland, which shares an island with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member.
Northern Ireland’s place in the UK must be respected. The EU must not be allowed to impose new laws and regulations on Northern Ireland without the consent of its people and institutions.
Sunak is attempting to end a standoff with the EU that’s poisoned relations with Britain’s biggest trading partner since it left the bloc three years ago.