Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2017
367. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the implication for the Brexit negotiations of the ECJ ruling on the trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore; the implications of this ruling in the context of the Irish negotiation position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24195/17]
View answerOpinion 2/15 of the European Court of Justice, issued on 16 May, is currently being analysed by relevant Government Departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
While the Opinion concerns the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Singapore, the Court’s conclusions as regards identifying matters of exclusive competence and matters of shared EU – Member State competence will be of relevance to other trade agreements of similar scope concluded by the EU with third countries in the future. In accordance with the Court’s Opinion, the inclusion within an agreement of provisions dealing with non-direct investment and related dispute settlement clauses would require the participation of the Member States in that agreement.
The negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship will be governed by Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) and any trading relationship must be agreed in line with Article 207 of the TFEU.
As the scope of any future EU-UK relationship is not yet known, and given that any agreement between the EU and the UK may include other areas not included in the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the precise implications of Opinion 2/15 on that process are, at this stage, a matter of speculation.
It remains the case that if any EU trade agreement with a third country includes matters which either require unanimity within the Union, or matters within the competence of the Member States themselves, then the agreement of all Member States would be required. Furthermore, if matters falling within Member State competence are included, national ratification procedures must be completed.
This Opinion of the ECJ does not in any way change Ireland’s stated objective for the forthcoming negotiations of seeking to maintain the closest possible trading relationship, based on a level playing field, between the UK and the EU in the future.
