(VOVWORLD) - The US and France on Monday welcomed the new Northern Ireland Protocol deal that the UK and the European Union have signed saying it created an opportunity to improve prosperity and strengthen peace throughout the region.
 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EC President Ursula von der Leyen at a joint press conference on February 27, 2023. (Photo: AFP) |
The new agreement on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, was reached at a Monday meeting of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London.
It aims to resolve tensions caused by the implementation of post-Brexit agreements in 2020 for the British region of Northern Ireland and to maintain an open border with Ireland, who remains an EU member.
The new deal will reduce checking of goods transported from the UK to Northern Ireland and give Northern Ireland's legislators discretion over some of the trade rules imposed by the EU under the terms of the Brexit deal.
US President Joe Biden has called Rishi Sunak's deal with the EU an "essential step" to preserve the peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, which was signed in 1998, ending a century-long conflict in Ireland, whose northern part belongs to the UK and whose southern part is a member of the EU.
Biden said he is confident the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities created by this stability and certainty, and the US stands ready to support the region's vast economic potential.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said the UK and the EU ending tensions over the trade status of Northern Ireland will secure prosperity and open up new opportunities for commerce.
French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed the new deal. On his personal Twitter account, he called it an important decision to help protect the Good Friday Agreement and the European market.