EU Eyes Months-Long Push to Get Brexit Deal Over Finish Line
- Bloc is assessing legal hurdles to complete implementation
- Member states wary of consequences of new legislative break
A UK flag flies next to European Union flags outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.
Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/BloombergThe European Union will need at least several months to sign off on the landmark post-Brexit deal to smooth cross border trade in Northern Ireland as officials are still assessing the legal steps needed to implement the more than 300-page agreement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed on a set of changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol that include three legislatives proposals on medicines, customs and agricultural controls, each of which needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member states. The compromise also includes several targeted amendments to the protocol itself.