UK, EU hail 'new chapter' with deal to fix Brexit trade spat

The UK and the European Union sealed a deal on Monday to resolve their thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland, hailing the agreement as the start of a “new chapter” in their often fractious relationship.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the grandly titled “Windsor Framework” after agreeing to the final details in Windsor, near London.

Von der Leyen told a news conference it was “historic what we have achieved today.” Sunak said there had been a “decisive breakthrough.”

The agreement, which will allow goods to flow freely to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, ends a dispute that has soured UK-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.