Mr. Guy Verhofstadt:

On the questions on external security, as I have already indicated in the first resolution, we in the European Parliament think that for the future relationship, the best way is to use an association agreement, as was seen in the Lisbon Treaty. That gives the possibility not only to talk about trade but also to talk about the other issues we have to tackle in the future and the other parts of that relationship. It can be on culture, on education or on research, and it can be on internal and external security matters. I think it is in the interests of everybody, including the Union, that we do that. Therefore, it will not only be about trade and economics; it will be a broader decision, in that sense. I underline what has been said, namely, that the British side has proposed a number of ideas.

Second, many speakers said that it is all very well what I am saying but asked how, in practice and on practical matters, it will work. I can tell them that, yesterday, I spoke with many representatives of sectors, especially about the practical consequences of Brexit and how to deal with these. I did not only talk about borders and avoiding a hard border. We spoke a lot about the general position of the Irish economy and of the Republic of Ireland, and the threats because of Brexit, because it is a main trading partner of Britain. We spoke of how to secure this trading position and also the trading position of Ireland towards the rest of the European Union because the normal streams of goods towards the European continent are under threat if we have no good solutions in these Brexit negotiations. I spoke about very concrete solutions for that with the different representatives of the sectors in order to understand their fears, their problems and how they see they could be solved in the future. I have taken on board a number of very practical suggestions on how that could be done within an agreement with the UK while defending the economic and trade position of Ireland after the withdrawal.

I have noted also the suggestion that has been made by some speakers to put the Good Friday Agreement as an annex of the withdrawal agreement. It is also a suggestion that has been made in the European Parliament and we are discussing that at the moment in the Brexit steering group.

On the divisions and the development of opinions in Britain, it is true that these are not for the moment helping the negotiations move forward. However, let us hope that these divisions of opinion will be overcome in the coming days and weeks in order that this fourth negotiation round can be a step forward towards the future.

Another element, having noted the negative impact of Brexit, is whether the Union will take its responsibility. Naturally, the Union will take its responsibility. We have the instruments for that and the funds for that, and it will certainly be done. However, let us first negotiate a good withdrawal agreement and a good association agreement on future relationships to minimise the impact, and then see what will be the nature of that impact.

On a last point, when I said in my introduction that it is for the UK to take responsibility and to come forward, this is not for lack of ideas because I have given ideas in my introduction and Deputy Micheál Martin has made a proposal here about an economic zone. I have spoken about what some have said to me, which is that the best way to solve it is to extend the Single Market and the customs union to Northern Ireland. All this is on the table. However, the reason I am saying this is that it is true that the decision to go out of the European Union has not been taken by Ireland, by the Irish Government or by the European Union. It is a consequence of a British decision so there is also, in that sense, a responsibility on their side to come forward with proposals that can work - not proposals which create a hard border, but proposals which avoid that. That is the reason I am recalling that all the time. There is, on their side, responsibility to accept a solution that is workable and, at the same time, that avoids a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

We have to see it a little bit as an element of the negotiation. It is not that they have taken a decision to go out and, so, we have all the problems on our back and have to find solutions for all the problems. No. There is a responsibility also on their side. For example, financially, one cannot go out of the European Union and say that the whole financial burden is for the remaining 27. Commitments made by 28 member states cannot be later on paid by the remaining 27. In one or another way, it is like a divorce. I have to tell the House I have no practical experience of divorces personally but I know that, in a divorce, you cannot go out and leave your partner alone in the house and say, "Now, all the financial things are for you. Bye-bye." That is not the way it works. Commitments have been made and if commitments have been made, then it is also normal that payments will be required based on these commitments.