David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Verhofstadt for being here and for meeting all parties in Stormont yesterday, as well as communities across the Border. I hope he will report back to the European Commission on these welcome engagements. On behalf of my colleagues who are MPs and MEPs, I ask if he intends to produce a formal report not just for the Commission but also for the steering group of the European Parliament that is dealing with Brexit.

Mr. Verhofstadt said he accepts Ireland's unique circumstances. That is something we saw in the European Commission's paper as well and I welcome it. We want to hear what, in the final analysis, the term "unique" will mean for Ireland. I welcome that Mr. Verhofstadt says that the North of Ireland must remain in the customs union. As we know, the British Government is against this. That needs to be a very clear, firm view not just of the European Parliament but also of the Commission. It has to be an absolute red line issue. If the North is taken out of the European Union against its will and if it is also taken out of the customs union and Single Market against its will, there will be an EU frontier on the island of Ireland. There will be a border. We do not want a hard border, a soft border or any type of border. It has to be a very clear, firm position of the European Commission that the North should remain in the customs union.

We also want it set as a protocol that the Good Friday Agreement, as was said, be attached to the withdrawal agreement. That gives full legal protections to the agreement. We cannot cherry-pick the Good Friday Agreement. It must be protected in its entirety. Citizens in the North have to have access to the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.

In respect of reforming the European Union, democracy is the key issue. Reform means different things to different people. My view of reform of the European Union might be different from that of Mr. Verhofstadt. If we are to learn anything from Brexit, it is that we need more democracy in Europe. I hope that will be at the heart of any debate on the future of Europe.