The European Union and the United Kingdom share the objective of avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Concrete commitments with a view to achieving this objective were agreed and set out in the Joint Report on Progress in December 2017 and have since been transposed into legal terms in the draft Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Ireland’s strong preference remains an overall EU-UK future relationship which would resolve all issues. However it remains vital that a legally-binding backstop is agreed to provide certainty that, in any circumstances, a hard border will be avoided.
The EU has been clear that the backstop is an essential element of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement and that negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full.
Ireland and the Commission have both stressed that substantial progress on the backstop is needed before the June European Council. Based on the negotiations between the UK and the Commission Taskforce in the coming days and weeks, Michel Barnier will make an assessment of progress, for consideration by the Taoiseach and his counterparts at the European Council three weeks from now.
In this regard, the recent presentation by the UK of written proposals aimed at making progress in the Brexit negotiations is welcomed. The Commission will make a first assessment of the technical and legal feasibility of the proposals, and whether they provide a basis for negotiation. We look forward to its assessment and to discussing whether the proposals could be helpful in meeting the UK’s repeated commitment to avoiding a hard border, and thereby making progress on the backstop on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In terms of security and safety, An Garda Síochána is responsible for the security of the State and any issues relating to the safety and security of Customs Officers or Customs facilities are addressed to that organisation.
