Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 May 2018
85. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken to his EU counterparts regarding the possible EU-UK framework for the future discussions published by the European Commission task force on 15 May 2018. [22570/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI continue to engage intensively with my EU counterparts and with the EU Taskforce on Brexit on the ongoing Brexit negotiations, including the framework for the future EU-UK relationship. This included my attendance on 14 May at the General Affairs Council (Article 50), at which Michel Barnier updated the EU27 Member States on the current state of play in the negotiations. The document to which the Deputy refers is a slide used by Mr Barnier during the course of his presentation, providing a visual representation of how key elements of the future EU-UK relationship identified in the EU Guidelines might be advanced and the governance frameworks that would underpin them.
Ireland has always been clear that we want the closest possible relationship between the EU and the UK and so I welcome the confirmation in the March European Council Guidelines of the EU’s determination to have as close as possible a partnership with the UK in the future.
These Guidelines also confirmed the EU’s readiness to start work towards a balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging free trade agreement (FTA). While an FTA is not Ireland’s preferred end goal, we recognise that the European Council has to take into account the repeatedly stated positions of the UK, including its wish to leave the Single Market and Customs Union, which limit the depth of the future partnership.
Nevertheless, the EU will enter negotiations on the future relationship with an open, positive and constructive mind, which will be important should the UK’s position evolve during the negotiations.
Ireland also shares the EU view that any future agreement must have the correct balance of rights and obligations, and that the integrity of the Single Market must be preserved. This is in Ireland’s fundamental interests as membership of the Single Market is a core element of our economic strategy. Furthermore, the Government will continue to be firm in arguing that any agreement must protect key sectors of the Irish economy given the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland and importance of our economic relationship with the UK.
The European Council guidelines also confirm that the EU’s future partnership with the UK will cover not just trade and economic cooperation but also other important areas, in particular the fight against terrorism and international crime, as well as security, defence and foreign policy.
The aim of the current negotiations is to agree alongside the EU-UK withdrawal agreement a framework for the future relations. This is because the actual agreement on a future relationship can only be finalised and concluded once the UK has become a third country, after it leaves the EU on 29 March 2019. The framework will set the objectives and scope of the detailed negotiations leading to legally binding future relationship agreement or agreements. This is why a status quo transitional arrangement is so important and so I welcome the conditional agreement reached in March on an orderly transition period. Of course, it is in the interest of everyone that a future relationship agreement is concluded as quickly as possible after the UK leaves the EU to provide certainty sooner rather than later.
