Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner. As someone who lives on the Border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, I very much appreciate the work that the Commissioner and his officials and the Commission have been doing in recent times. There is an old 17th century saying Perfidious Albion which relates to the disingenuous way that the British Government and British Monarchy have acted in international diplomacy. Unfortunately in Ireland we are very well aware of the disingenuous nature of the British Government towards Ireland. I have a few brief questions. This Commissioner has touched on this but how far can the British Government move the goalposts before the trade and co-operation agreement comes into question? Is a plan B prepared in regard to a renegotiation of that trade and co-operation agreement? What is the opinion of the Commission in regard to the democratic deficit and with the lack of representation there is in Northern Ireland and the lack of a future pathway in the protocol to give Northern citizens that representation they deserve as equal EU citizens? How important is our friendship with the US Government and the President of the United States in the negotiations? We are entering a very critical time and in my opinion the influence is strong, but how strong is that from the perspective of the EU institutions in these negotiations?