Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

Our opposition to the agreement is as strong as France's and, potentially, Poland's will be. Let me reflect on whether and when we will formally join that group and revert to the Deputy, but I have been clear in my conversations with the French Government about our opposition. I do not see any sign of the French Government's position changing on that.

Technically, the agreement is undergoing what they call "legal scrubbing" at the moment. It will then be translated into all official EU languages. There is some uncertainty over what form the final Commission proposal to member states will take. It could either be a mixed agreement, which would require unanimous member state approval, or it could be a split agreement with the trade elements applied on an interim basis. As the Deputy mentioned, this is when a blocking minority would come in because it would then require qualified majority voting.

In the interim, relevant Departments will continue their detailed analysis of the agreement. We will continue to work with like-minded countries and make our points to the European Commission about the concerns we have. It is expected that the Commission will present the final agreement package, combining the 2019 agreement and the additional legal instrument, in late quarter 2 or early quarter 3 of this year.

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