紐時賞析／困在脫歐僵局的駐英外交官 如今看到新起點

E.U. Diplomat Sees a ‘New Beginning’ in the U.K.

困在脫歐僵局的駐英外交官 如今看到新起點

As the European Union’s ambassador to London, João Vale de Almeida had a ringside seat for the chaos overwhelming British politics last year, when all eyes were on the missteps, scandals and resulting downfalls of two prime ministers in quick succession.

身為歐盟駐倫敦大使，阿爾梅達能夠就近觀察去年淹沒英國政壇的亂局，彼時所有目光盯著相關的失策、醜聞，並導致兩個英國首相相繼迅速垮台。

Under either of the ousted prime ministers, Vale de Almeida indicated, prospects were dim for resolving one of the most serious conflicts contributing to rocky post-Brexit relations between Britain and the European Union: the trade status of Northern Ireland.

阿爾梅達指出，下台的兩位英相任內，要解決北愛爾蘭貿易地位的可能性渺茫，這也是導致脫歐後英國和歐盟不穩定關係的最嚴重衝突之一。

But the relationship has shifted significantly with the rise of a new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, Vale de Almeida said, culminating Monday when Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, struck a deal to resolve their Northern Ireland dispute.

但阿爾梅達說，隨著英國新首相蘇納克上台，雙邊關係已顯著改變，並在周一達到高點，當時蘇納克與歐盟行政部門歐盟執委會主席范德賴恩達成解決北愛爭端的協議。

That breakthrough, Vale de Almeida said, opened a path to greater cooperation not only between Brussels and London but also between Europe and the United States in confronting common challenges such as Russian aggression and rising tension with China, where Western cooperation is essential.

阿爾梅達說，此一突破開闢蹊徑，不僅讓布魯塞爾和倫敦擴大合作，也讓歐洲與美國更能對抗西方世界必須合作的共同挑戰，如俄羅斯的侵略以及和中國之間升高的緊張。

“If Sunak gets enough support for the deal, we can see this as a new beginning,” Vale de Almeida, who completed his assignment in London late last year, said in an interview. “With the EU, the U.K. and the U.S., there is a triangular dimension.”

去年底卸下駐節倫敦職務的阿爾梅達受訪表示，「如果蘇納克得到對於該協議的足夠支持，我們就可將之視為一個新起點」，「有了歐盟、英國及美國，就有一個三維空間」。

The agreement followed an era of unrivaled mistrust under Sunak’s two most recent predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and Vale de Almeida said the accord illustrated growing European faith in the new British prime minister.

在蘇納克的前兩任首相強生和特拉斯任內，歐盟與英國空前缺乏互信，如今得以簽署協議，阿爾梅達表示，這說明歐洲對這位新英相信任加深。

The deal, called the Windsor Framework, outlines mechanisms to smooth trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom without impeding trade across Northern Ireland’s land border with Ireland, an EU member country.

這項名為「溫莎架構」的協議，勾勒了北愛與聯合王國其他部分順利貿易的機制，而且不會阻礙北愛和歐盟成員國愛爾蘭的陸地邊界貿易。

Tension over the status of Northern Ireland has bedeviled negotiators since Britain voted in 2016 to withdraw from the bloc. In 2020, both sides ratified a withdrawal agreement negotiated by Johnson that kept goods flowing freely across the Irish border but infuriated many people in Northern Ireland by hampering the territory’s trade with Great Britain.

自英國2016年公投脫離歐盟以來，關於北愛地位引發的緊張一直困擾談判代表。2020年，雙方簽署一項由強生談判的脫歐協議，保持貨物在愛爾蘭邊界自由流動，但該協議阻礙北愛和英國的貿易，激怒很多北愛人。

Johnson and Truss then backed legislation to allow Britain to renege on parts of the deal they had approved, angering EU officials. Sunak agreed to drop that plan while securing some new concessions on behalf of Northern Ireland.

接著強生及特拉斯支持立法，讓英國得以在他們已經批准的這項協議部分條文上反悔，此舉觸怒歐盟官員。蘇納克同意放棄該方案，同時代表北愛爭取到若干新讓步。

文／Stephen Castle　譯／茅毅