British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced they have reached an agreement on Monday on rules for trade with Northern Ireland after Brexit.
Sunak said what he called the "Windser framework" represented a "crucial breakthrough" and the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the UK and the EU.
He explained that the agreement is a turning point for Northern Ireland that would end the uncertainty about the movement of goods between Britain and the Union.
Sunak indicated that the agreement achieved 3 things, including removing borders in the Irish Sea, increasing the flow of British products to Northern Ireland, and protecting its sovereignty.
For her part, Von der Leyen stressed that the new agreement represents a historic moment and protects the peace gains that were achieved in the Good Friday Agreement signed 25 years ago, in reference to the "Belfast Peace Agreement" in 1998, which largely put an end to the violence known as the "Troubles". which killed more than 3,500 people.
The agreement was reached after arduous talks between London and Brussels, which were managed by 3 heads of government on the British side.
The agreement aims to avoid the establishment of a land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union, which could weaken the peace concluded in 1998 between the two parties after a bloody war that lasted 3 decades.
The new framework provides for a "green" corridor free of inspections for goods from the rest of the UK, which are supposed to remain in Northern Ireland and not be transferred to Ireland and the European Economic Community.