H.E. Mr. Paul Johnston:

It is a great pleasure to be here. I thank the members for the invitation to address the committee. We met last year in a very different political context in terms of the UK’s relationship with the European Union.

Given the crucial importance of political stability in Northern Ireland and the wider importance of the UK-EU relationship, not least to Ireland and not least in the current geopolitical context, it was rightly a priority for the UK and the EU to seek to resolve the difficulties concerning the Northern Ireland Protocol. I am pleased to be here this year in a different political situation, in particular following the conclusion of the Windsor Framework. I again put on record our thanks for the important role the Irish Government played in that process.

The UK Foreign Secretary said last week at the UK-EU Partnership Parliamentary Assembly that "it was always obvious” that “close and friendly co-operation between the UK and the EU would be the ultimate and eventual outcome of Brexit". He admitted that it took longer to get there than many of us would have liked. However, I believe we are now on a positive trajectory for UK-EU relations for three reasons. First, we have stabilised our relationship with the conclusion of the Windsor Framework. Second, our shared values and interests in the challenging world we face today, exemplified by our work on Ukraine, have offered a new model for effective UK-EU co-operation. Third, we have a forward-looking agenda to maintain momentum, as the Foreign Secretary and Vice President Šefovi confirmed when they met last week.

The Windsor Framework was a significant achievement based on a shared sense of collaboration to find workable solutions underpinned by trust. It fixed the practical problems we were facing, particularly on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, thus, crucially, restoring one of the delicate balances of the Belfast, Good Friday, Agreement. It was welcome and appropriate that the framework was agreed before the 25th anniversary of the Belfast, Good Friday, Agreement. For me personally, it was a privilege and an experience I will long remember to be at Queen’s University Belfast and Hillsborough Castle for the events to mark that special anniversary.

The Windsor Framework is rightly seen as a turning point for Northern Ireland. The UK Government, like the Irish Government and the EU as a whole, wants to see an executive restored so that Northern Ireland can seize the full benefits that the new framework provides. We continue to urge the parties to return to power sharing at the earliest opportunity. Of course, more work will be needed on detailed implementation in the coming months but the Government is confident the framework provides the foundation, most importantly, for political and economic stability in Northern Ireland, but also for a more positive UK-EU relationship in the years to come.

It is clear that an important factor in the determination to resolve the differences over the Northern Ireland protocol was the shared priority the UK and EU have with regard to the appalling events happening at the other end of our continent. The commitment the UK has shown to Euro-Atlantic security ever since the Brexit decision, but particularly since the invasion of Ukraine, has illustrated that, to coin a phrase, although the UK has left the European Union, we have not left Europe. The UK’s Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a More Contested and Volatile World, our review of the international situation and its implications published in March this year, made clear that "the security and prosperity of the Euro-Atlantic will remain our core priority, bolstered by a reinvigoration of our European relationships". We have seen this in practice over the past 16 months as we have worked together to support Ukraine and its people and to sanction the Russian war machine. We are also seeing that co-operation in supporting Ukraine to rebuild its society, economy and infrastructure. We were delighted that the Tánaiste was in London for the UK-hosted Ukraine Recovery Conference last month, where President von der Leyen pledged, on behalf of the EU, €50 billion in grants and loans. We must support Ukraine to win the war and the peace. Our shared European values and interests are at stake in this.

This brings me to my third and final point of my introductory remarks. I believe that the conclusion of the Windsor Framework and the intense UK-EU co-operation on Ukraine have shown that we are now in a positive place for the future of UK-EU co-operation. To quote the Integrated Review Refresh document again, "The enduring strength of the European family of nations, and of the UK’s ties within it, has been reaffirmed” and “We will build on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Windsor Framework to enter a new phase in our post-Brexit relationships in Europe.”

Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, TCA, there are now formal UK-EU dialogues on cybersecurity and counter-terrorism. More broadly, we are developing foreign policy co-operation between the UK and EU. One important example is the Western Balkans. I know members heard from the EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue a fortnight ago. Our missions in Brussels and on the ground across the region are working together very closely on these issues. Our ambition and our agenda can go further, however.

To name three areas, the European Political Community, EPC, has been a welcome new forum for continent-wide co-operation. The Prime Minister and Taoiseach most recently met in the margins of the last meeting in Moldova last month. The UK will host an EPC leaders’ meeting next year following the next summit in Spain in October.

The UK has also renewed our participation in the North Seas Energy Cooperation group, NSEC, which will help facilitate, among other things, deeper UK-Ireland co-operation on energy. We are grateful to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for the role he has played in that forum.

We are expanding co-operation on illegal migration, which is a pan-European issue. This includes working through the Calais group - Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and the EU - and we have opened talks to establish a working arrangement with Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency.

Looking even further ahead, there will be a review of the TCA as a whole in 2025. A lot of water will pass under many bridges before then. Our focus for now should be building on the positive developments of recent months to encourage further progress in the relationship in our shared interest.