After more than three years since Brexit came into effect, a big step forward has been made to normalise the UK’s relations with the European Union.

The Windsor Framework replaces the infamous Northern Ireland protocol negotiated in a hurry by former prime minister Boris Johnson. The threat of a trade war with the EU was the last thing British people needed – what they badly need now is to see improvement in their economic prospects.

It is tempting for political analysts to dissect the Windsor Framework to determine which party made more concessions. In the end, it was a pragmatic compromise that should help the people of Northern Ireland to safeguard the peace they have enjoyed since the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998.

The Windsor Framework ensures that no hard border will be reintroduced between Northern Ireland and the Republic. It enables people in the north of Ireland to identify themselves as Republicans, Unionists or both and live in peace in a diversified community.

It also ensures that trade rules apply equally in all parts of the UK and that people in Northern Ireland will have access to the same goods in shops throughout the rest of Britain. The new agreement dismantles whole layers of bureaucracy that created uncertainty for many businesses trading in the UK internal market and upset some consumers. Put simply, Northern Ireland is now no longer inside the EU’s single market.

The parliament in Westminster and the European Council will likely ratify the agreement. But there are still some hurdles to be overcome for it to achieve another critical objective: the return of devolved government in Belfast.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has boycotted the power-sharing process in Northern Ireland as a protest against the previous agreement with the EU. This is arguably as important as pulling Northern Ireland out of the EU single market.

Neither the EU nor the UK wants Ireland to return to the bloody conflicts that characterised the island before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

The British Labour Party did the right thing to support Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who still needs to persuade some of his hardcore Eurosceptic Conservative MPs to approve this new agreement.

Persuading the DUP to return to a devolved government may be more challenging. But, in the end, the Windsor Framework has shown that pragmatic politicians can indeed make politics work for the people.

Now the UK can build on this agreement to normalise its relations with the EU on other critical issues, including managing illegal migration, defence, education, international crime prevention, scientific research, and the movement of EU and UK citizens in Europe.

The Windsor Framework agreement has shown how much has changed in Europe since Brexit in 2020. Hopefully, the acrimonious squabbling between the EU and the UK, with a threat of lengthy legal disputes in international courts, is over. The Ukraine war must have influenced the EU to engage more with the UK and close one of the outstanding and unnecessary controversial issues with a friendly country.

While the people of Northern Ireland are the immediate beneficiaries of the Windsor agreement, all British people will see dividends accruing over the coming years.

Similarly, all Europeans should benefit as the Union’s leaders can now focus on addressing the various structural weaknesses that undermine the credibility of the EU in the eyes of many citizens.