Maintaining frequent contact with EU partners has been a priority for Ireland throughout the Article 50 negotiations process. I discuss Brexit collectively with my EU27 counterparts on a monthly basis at the General Affairs Council (Article 50), most recently yesterday. Since the last meeting of the European Council in March, I have met with my counterparts from Sweden, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany France, and this week with the new Foreign Ministers of Italy and Spain. In addition to my own contacts, Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee TD, has met with her Greek, Estonian, Swedish, Norwegian and Portuguese counterparts. The Taoiseach has met with the Prime Ministers of Belgium and Spain, and also met with other EU leaders at the Western Balkans Summit in May. The Taoiseach and I met with both the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU’s Chief Negotiator for the Article 50 negotiations, Michel Barnier, when they visited Ireland last week. I met with Michel Barnier again in Luxembourg on 26 June in the margins of the General Affairs Council. Further to my own engagement with Mr Barnier, officials from my Department, and in particular from the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels, continue to have very regular, almost daily engagement with Mr Barnier and his team. In all of these contacts, the Government continues to be assured of the continued support of our EU partners in addressing the unique issues posed by Brexit for the island of Ireland. The solidarity of the EU27 has been crucial in securing commitments and guarantees from the UK on the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the peace process, including avoiding a hard border.
Mr Juncker confirmed the Commission’s support for the Irish position in his address to the Oireachtas last week. Michel Barnier has also been firm in his support and has consistently made clear that without a backstop, there can be no Withdrawal Agreement. He has also made clear that “this is an EU issue, not only an Irish issue”.
As concerns the future EU-UK relationship, I welcome that the Guidelines adopted by EU leaders last March which reaffirmed EU’s desire to establish a close partnership with the UK. At the same time, the Guidelines also place an important emphasis on the need to ensure a level playing field, stressing that any future agreement must be based on a balance of rights and obligations. The commitment that the EU is willing to revisit its position should the UK’s approach evolve is also of particular importance to Ireland.
