‘A spirit of goodwill’: Michel Barnier praises Northern Ireland Brexit plan

Rishi Sunak's attitude much more responsible' than that of Boris Johnson, says former EU negotiator

The EU's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has praised the agreement on Northern Ireland between the union and the British government as a positive step that turns a page in relations between the two sides.

In an interview with the Guardian, the veteran French politician said the Windsor framework agreement signed by Rishi Sunak and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, last month, operationalised" the Northern Ireland protocol he had negotiated with the British government in 2019. There was a spirit of goodwill for the first time in three years, to find solutions that are concrete, operational and realistic."