King to host EU boss for tea in move that could spark Tory row over Brexit deal | The Sun
KING Charles will meet EU boss Ursula von der Leyen for tea at Windsor Castle today, Buckingham Palace has said.
The EU Commission leader is in town to meet Rishi Sunak and formally shake on their post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal.
Ms Von Der Leyen said as she arrived in the UK on the Eurostar this morning: "I’m glad to be in the UK today to meet with Prime Minister @RishiSunak.
"I’m looking forward to turning a page and opening a new chapter with our partner and friend."
But the meeting with the King risks a huge row with Tory MPs – who say the King should not be getting involved with the Brexit deal at all as he risks getting dragged into politics.
No10 insisted last night that any meeting with the King would be totally separate to the Northern Ireland agreement.
And Buckingham Palace today said that the meeting was on the advice of the Government.
A Palace spokesman said: "The King is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the Government’s advice that he should do so."
But MPs hit out at the move to host the EU chief in Berkshire – with suggestions it may be dubbed the Windsor agreement.
The DUP's Sammy Wilson said it was politically "naïve" to involve him.
He told Sky: "Not only is the prime minister naïve if that’s what he was planning to do, but this is a cynical use, or abuse of the King."
Former Labour MP Lady Hoey said any such meeting would have been “outrageous”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Times the planned meeting with the king was “on the borderline of constitutional propriety”.
Mr Sunak and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will meet in No10 to iron out the final details of an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Once a deal is done, Mr Sunak will update his Cabinet before the pair make a formal announcement at a press conference in Windsor.
Q&A: SO WHY DID IT ALL DRAG ON?
Q) What is the Northern Ireland protocol?
A) It is a deal with the EU to avoid a hard border on the Irish mainland.
The EU insists goods which could enter its single market in the Republic of Ireland comply with its rules.
The protocol allowed some checks to take place on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Q) What's the problem?
A) The protocol created a border in the Irish Sea, splitting off NI from the rest of the UK.
Sometimes the checks are so onerous businesses on the mainland refuse to sell goods in NI, leading to shortages.
Q) How is PM Rishi Sunak proposing to fix this?
A) The EU will agree to a new system of red and green lanes. Goods from GB destined for NI only would be subject to minimal checks.
There will also be a Stormont lock to give elected politicians in NI a say over which EU rules they follow.
Q) Will this end the row?
A) Unlikely. Anything requiring NI to still follow EU rules on product standards will be unacceptable to many.
The EU and Britain have been striving to secure a new arrangement before the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement in April to smooth trade problems over the border and get the government in Stormont back up and running.
Following hours of negotiations, Brussels agreed to a new system of red and green lanes for goods crossing from Britain into the province.
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Products destined for NI only will be subject to minimal checks in the green lane, while those heading to the Republic will go through customs checks in the red lane.
There will also be a "Stormont lock" to give elected politicians in NI a say over which EU trade rules they follow.
Mr Sunak's new deal won't get a tick of approval from everyone.
Some members of the Brexiteer European Research Group have marked any involvement of the European Court of Justice in the province as a red line.
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Unionist MPs have said the same, however they'll wait to read the fine print before confirming disapproval.
All eyes will also be on ex-PM Boris Johnson, who over the past week spoke out against Mr Sunak's efforts to end the dispute.
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