Written answers

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Brexit Negotiations

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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49. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he continues to liaise with his EU colleagues and the UK Government in the context of ongoing negotiations in respect of Brexit; if he has been assured that the UK government continues to ensure that the DUP is briefed on progress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53168/17]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The remarkable solidarity of our EU partners regarding the unique challenges facing the island of Ireland has been strong and consistent throughout the first phase of the EU-UK exit negotiations. I am very pleased with the progress so far in the negotiations and we reached a key moment last Friday when we achieved the goals we set out to achieve in phase one. This includes maintenance of the Common Travel Area, and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts including North/South cooperation.

Ireland is negotiating as part of the EU27, through the work of the EU’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier and his team. My officials are in regular contact with Mr Barnier’s team and provide all support they can to the work of the Task force in the negotiations, particularly where it concerns the Irish-specific issues, which will continue to be taken forward in a distinct strand of the negotiations in phase two.

In the lead up to Friday’s publication of the joint progress report by the EU and UK negotiating teams and ahead of the European Council decision on sufficient progress, I undertook an intensive round of bilateral contacts with my EU counterparts, to reaffirm the importance of making sufficient progress across all three exit issues, including the Irish-specific issues. I met with Michel Barnier again in Brussels on 24 November and also met with my counterparts from Poland, Hungary and Spain on the same day, in the margins of the Eastern Partnership Summit. I have spoken to a number of my counterparts by telephone over the past week, including with my colleagues from Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Slovakia. I also joined the Taoiseach in his meeting with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in Dublin on Friday 1 December. There has also been extensive engagement with EU partners by Minister of State McEntee and at official level. These strategic engagements will continue as the Brexit negotiations move into phase 2.

My most recent meeting with a UK minister was with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. While we had a broad agenda, it provided the opportunity to exchange views on the exit negotiations. The Taoiseach and my cabinet colleagues engage regularly with our UK counterparts on a range of issues unrelated to Brexit, but have used these opportunities to restate the EU position on the negotiations and to reaffirm that the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are through the agreed structures in Brussels.

One of the key priorities of the Government in these negotiations has been to ensure that the gains of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement are fully protected. This is a shared objective of the EU and of the UK. Ireland is negotiating as part of the EU27. Any internal consultations on the UK’s position in the Article 50 negotiations are a matter for the UK Government.

I am very pleased that the EU Task Force was able to reach this agreement with the UK government last Friday and that Michel Barnier was in a position to recommend to the Council that sufficient progress has been made on all phase one issues. Language on Ireland and Northern Ireland in the joint report from the negotiators of the EU and the UK Government reflects our goals of maintaining the Common Travel Area, protecting the Good Friday Agreement and North South cooperation, and protecting EU citizenship and other rights. I am hopeful that the European Council will agree to start discussions on the framework for a future EU-UK relationship as soon as possible. The Government will keep working to achieve the best possible outcome for the island of Ireland, our citizens and our economy.

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