Britain’s Brexit negotiators have held secret talks with EU officials over possible “wriggle room” in Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal.
Discussions in Brussels come as the Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland’s largest pro-UK party, continues to boycott Stormont.
Ulster has faced a two-year power-sharing deadlock after the DUP pulled out of Stormont after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson erected a border down the Irish Sea.
Senior officials conceded there was no room for renegotiation of Sunak’s Windsor Framework, The Telegraph has claimed.
Northern Ireland's post-Brexit settlement has caused concern among Unionists
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However, Cabinet Office officials Mark Davies and Brendan Threlfall joined the UK’s EU Ambassador Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby in asking for the Brussels bloc to grant favourable language on the implementation of the so-called “green lane”.
A source said: “It’s on the implementation, the wriggle room, of how things are described and explained. There’s no room to renegotiate.”
The green route deals with internal trade from the UK to Northern Ireland.
It ensures goods are subject to minor checks to enter the country.
The red lane revolves around British exports entering the Republic of Ireland via Northern Ireland.
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General views of Stormont
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Goods caught up in the so-called red route are subject to extra checks before exportation to the EU as the Brussels bloc is keen to protect the integrity of its single market.
Despite securing concessions on the interpretation of the Windsor Framework, the DUP has had a long-standing demand that goods shipped through the green lane must be done so with the bare minimum of controls.
Whitehall is also prepared to put forward legislation to protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK with a £3.3billion financial package and a new East-West council to bolster intra-UK ties.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is under pressure to call fresh elections to Stormont.
Heaton-Harris, who held talks with Stormont parties on Monday, faces a deadline of mid-April if power-sharing is not restored.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris speaks to the media as he arrives at the Hill of O'Neill Arts Centre
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The DUP’s boycott of Stormont leaves the province facing industrial action on Thursday as 15 trade unions strike over pay.
Deals could not be hammered out for the public sector workers because Stormont is not in place to negotiate with them.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which is expected to romp to victory at the next general election as the Tories face a 1997-style wipeout, has vowed to sign a veterinary deal.
Labour’s proposed deal with Brussels has also been discussed with DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
Donaldson claimed “significant progress” had been made in negotiations with Westminster over the border but gave no timeline for a return to Stormont.
He also put pressure on Heaton-Harris to release the public sector pay awards this year otherwise “it looks like the strike action will go ahead”.
Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O'Neill and DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson
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Michelle O’Neill, who leads the pro-unification party Sinn Fein, said there was no “chink of light” over a return to Stormont before workers strike.
Stormont is due to meet to elect a speaker before the deadline but the DUP is expected to veto that move for the seventh time.
It will also debate a motion brought by Sinn Fein in support of the striking workers.
Recent opinion polls suggest the DUP would remain the largest Unionist party in Northern Ireland at the next election.
However, Sinn Fein would likely retain its status as the province’s largest party, a feat it first achieved in the poll held in 2022.