The DUP is to end its boycott of the Northern Ireland Executive, the party has agreed.
The province's largest unionist party collapsed power sharing in 2022 because of its unhappiness with post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Unionists believed that checks on goods imported from Great Britain into Northern Ireland were bad for their economy and incompatible with the Good Friday Agreement.
Graffiti reading 'No Irish Sea border' near Belfast City centre, 02-02-2021. Image: David Young/PA Wire/PA ImagesIn response, the British Government and European Union announced a package of reforms in 2023, dubbed the Windsor Framework.
London has promised further changes to the agreement and today, Jeffrey Donaldson announced the changes would satisfy his party and the DUP would nominate ministers to the Executive.
Speaking to journalists, Mr Donaldson said the changes to the framework would "remove checks on goods moving within the UK and remaining in NI, and end NI blindly following EU laws".
He also said there would be, "legislation protecting the Acts of Union, which guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland business to the rest of the UK."
The details of the deal have yet to be announced but Mr Donaldson said he was "confident" in what has been agreed.
"We will only be able to move after the government faithfully delivers on the implementation of its legal and other commitments," he said.
"Both our party officers and party executive have mandated me to move forward.. on the basis of the proposals brought forward by the government, subject to and on the basis of the [British] Government delivering measures of that package."
Unionist support
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, journalist Amanda Ferguson said Mr Donaldson generally had the support of his party throughout the negotiations.
Despite this, not everyone in the unionist community will support a return to power sharing on the current terms.
"There is a very hardline rump within unionism who aren't happy," she said.
"For example, the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice party, Jim Allister, who is a former DUP representative said on Twitter last night, 'Sadly, in betrayal of their own solemn pledges, the DUP has caved in on an Irish Sea border, EU law and the suspension of Article 6. Seems not one word of the Union-dismantling Protocol has been removed.'
"Jim Allister takes a very hardline position that he doesn't believe that pretty much anything other than a border back in Ireland would resolve this issue."
Sinn Féin
In 2022, Sinn Féin won more seats than the DUP in the Assembly elections, meaning Michelle O'Neill won the right to be nominated as Northern Ireland's First Minister.
It would mean she becomes the first nationalist First Minister in the history of the Northern State and a DUP MLA would serve as Deputy First Minister.
"The unionist majority that was part of the Northern Ireland State when it was created over a 100 years ago doesn't exist anymore," Ms Ferguson said.
"I think that the fact that Sinn Féin may be poised to enter Government in the Republic of Ireland unnerves unionism because it would then make Sinn Féin a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, as such.
"So, things are changing across the island."
Main image: DUP MP for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson.
