The Windsor Framework is a proposed post-Brexit legal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom which was announced on 27 February 2023. It is designed to address the problem of the movement of goods between the European Single Market and the United Kingdom in the current Northern Ireland Protocol. Overview The agreement was named after the meeting of the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Fairmont hotel at Windsor Great Park. After meeting the PM and announcing the deal at the Windsor Guildhall, von der Leyen then had tea with King Charles III in Windsor Castle. The proposed agreement was reached in accordance with Articles 16 and 17 of the protocol and does not formally need parliamentary approval. However, the Prime Minister has promised that MPs shall have an opportunity to vote on it. Its adoption will likely halt the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and the infringement procedures by the European Commission brought against the UK in relation to the bill. On the EU side, the agreement will have to pass with a qualified majority in the Council of the European Union. Some parts of the agreement will have to obtain the consent of the European Parliament. Contents of the agreement The proposed agreement relates to goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It would introduce green and red lanes to reduce checks and paperwork on goods that are destined for Northern Ireland, and separate them from goods at risk of moving into the EU Common Market. It also includes a number of agreements on medicine control, VAT and alcohol duty. Stormont brake The framework introduces a mechanism called the "Stormont brake", which would allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to temporarily stop any changes to EU goods regulations from applying in Northern Ireland if the Assembly feared that the changes would have a "significant and lasting effects on everyday lives". According to the agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly can trigger the brake on any new "significantly different" rule implemented if 30 Members of the Legislative Assembly from two or more parties object, giving way to a 14-day consultation period before reference to the UK Government for consideration. Cross-community consent (support from both unionists and nationalists) is not required. However, "the government says a decision on whether to permanently block an EU rule,