Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the comments made by Commissioner Schinas on borders at the EU Commission press conference on 22 January 2019; and if he has spoken to the Commissioner since. [4073/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Following his speculative remarks at the press briefing on 22 January, Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas clarified the Commission's position at a press briefing on 23 January, stating that the EU is determined to do all it can, deal or no deal, to avoid the need for a border and to protect peace in Northern Ireland. He added that the EU is fully behind Ireland and has expressed, on numerous occasions, full solidarity with Ireland and that this has not changed. He made clear that the EU will continue to remind the UK of its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement, deal or no deal. At the same time, he acknowledged that Ireland and the EU have responsibilities as regards the protection of the Single Market and Customs Union.

I welcome this important clarification from the Commission,  which demonstrates that Ireland and the EU continue to be at one. It remains the case that ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the EU and the UK Government is the best, and realistically the only, way to ensure an orderly Brexit that provides certainty with regard to the full protection of the Good Friday Agreement and the gains of the peace process, including the avoidance of a hard border. 

The Government has consistently stated unequivocally that we will not accept a hard border on this island.  The UK also accepts that avoiding a hard border is essential. 

If the UK Government cannot secure the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, while our objectives and commitments would not change, achieving and honouring them would become more difficult. So the EU and Ireland on one side, and the UK on the other, will have to work intensively together to ensure that we deliver on our shared goal of avoiding the return of a hard border, deal or no deal. We are committed to doing all in our power to ensure that goal is met.