The Government’s priorities for the EU-UK negotiations have been clearly stated. They are minimising the impact on Ireland's trade and economy, protecting the Northern Ireland Peace Process, maintaining the Common Travel Area, and influencing the future of the European Union.
A critical part of the Government’s strategy and preparations for the negotiations has been to ensure that our priorities and unique concerns are heard and understood across Europe. Therefore, engagement with EU institutions and our EU partners is an important aspect of our approach. The very strong acknowledgement of our unique circumstances within the EU guidelines for the negotiations is a positive outcome and shows that the Government’s extensive political, diplomatic and official campaign of recent months has been effective in ensuring understanding and recognition of our unique circumstances and specific issues.
Since the beginning of the Brexit process, we have had over 450 engagements at political and official level with the remaining EU27 countries and the institutions. Across the board, both in terms of other Member States and the EU institutions, there is a strong willingness to work closely on addressing Irish specific issues. The Government will of course continue to engage politically at EU level in order to ensure that Ireland’s interests are kept to the forefront as much as possible during the negotiation period ahead.
Ireland remains fully committed to our membership of the EU and the Eurozone, and we will be very much part of the EU team, working to ensure that the negotiations are conducted in a constructive and positive manner. EU membership remains central to the success of our open, competitive economy and has been the foundation for much of the social progress we have made over the last four decades.
