Europe and the United Kingdom have reached a framework for cooperation between their border-control agencies. The arrangement will be formalized in the near future as part of a broader effort to curb illegal migration, according to the European Commission on Sunday.
In a brief statement, the European executive noted that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations during a phone call on Sunday. [Attribution: European Commission]
“The two leaders welcomed the successful end of negotiations on a new working agreement between the United Kingdom and Frontex, which will be formalized in the coming days as part of a wider UK–EU cooperation to combat illegal migration”, Brussels said. [Attribution: European Commission]
As details of the UK–European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) agreement remain to be disclosed, this pact marks another step in the ongoing post-Brexit thaw between London and Brussels under Prime Minister Sunak. [Attribution: European Commission]
Brussels and London had previously resolved a dispute over post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland. [Attribution: European Commission]
Northern Ireland stands apart from the rest of the United Kingdom after Brexit. It remains aligned with the European single market for goods to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, while continuing to participate in the UK internal market for other goods. [Attribution: European Commission]
The Windsor framework, which replaced the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019, also opened the door for the UK to rejoin the European Union’s flagship research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, with an annual contribution of about 2.43 billion euros. [Attribution: European Commission]
The United Kingdom has also rejoined the EU’s Earth observation program Copernicus, adding roughly 154 million euros to participation. [Attribution: European Commission]
The Windsor Framework includes the so‑called Stormont brake, a clause that gives the Northern Ireland Assembly the power to object to future EU laws it believes conflict with its interests. [Attribution: European Commission]