John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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39. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason for the delay in opening a European Union office in Belfast, County Antrim. [18530/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland upholds measures to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, and to protect the integrity of the Single Market and Ireland’s place in it. To achieve this, Northern Ireland will remain in the UK customs territory, but will continue to apply the rules of the Union Customs Code and certain other relevant EU legislation.

Article 12 of the Protocol provides for EU representatives to be present for activities relating to the application and implementation of the Protocol. In this context, the question of an EU office in Belfast has been discussed at the Joint and Specialised Committees.

There are ongoing discussions between the EU and the UK on how this commitment under the Protocol can be made operational.  We hope, and are confident, that agreement can be reached through the Specialised and Joint Committees on how the EU presence envisaged in the Protocol can operate in an appropriate way.