Irish PM says he will ramp up power-sharing talks with the United Kingdom


Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Sunday that he would intensify efforts with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to restore a power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland. It comes as debate over the proposed Windsor Framework between the European Union and the U.K. continues to grow.
"We put a huge amount of effort in the last few months into getting an agreement on revisions and reforms to the protocol," Varadkar told Irish broadcaster RTE.
Varadkar's comments came on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a 1998 pact between the U.K., Ireland, and Northern Irish parties that ended a 30-year violent sectarian conflict known as The Troubles. However, since then, "there has been a power-sharing stalemate ... for almost as long as it has been functioning," Bloomberg reported, largely due to disagreements over the movement of goods between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The current trade agreement, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, was enacted after the British departure from the EU left the Ireland-Northern Ireland border as the only remaining land crossing between the U.K. and EU. When the U.K. was part of the EU, trade could pass freely across the border.
To address the thorny trade and political issues arising from Brexit in Northern Ireland, the U.K. and EU crafted the Windsor Framework to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol to address concerns from businesses and pro-U.K. Northern Irish unionists. While the U.K. and EU have signed off on the agreement, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a leading faction in Northern Ireland, has not. The DUP has said it would not agree to the framework without further changes, Reuters reported.
As debate over the framework continues, Varadkar told RTE he would have "deep engagement with the British government and also with the five parties in Northern Ireland to try and get the institutions up and running again."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Oasis reunited: definitely maybe a triumph
Talking Point The reunion of a band with 'the power of Led Zeppelin' and 'the swagger of the Rolling Stones'
-
Crossword: July 12, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling