Throughout the negotiations and Brexit process, it has been a priority of this Government to protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the peace process, which includes ensuring that there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland under any circumstances. The Withdrawal Agreement, which was agreed by the UK and EU in November and endorsed by the European Council on 25 November, fully reflects this through the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, including its provision for a “backstop” on avoiding a hard border. This reflects the commitment provided by the UK in the joint progress report of December 2017 that it would maintain the full alignment with those rules of the EU's Customs Union and internal market necessary to protect North South cooperation, the all-island economy and the Good Friday Agreement.
The UK is leaving the EU and that means that some changes are unavoidable. However, in addition to the guarantee on avoiding a hard border in all circumstances, the Protocol contains provisions on a number of important areas for Ireland, including provision for the maintenance of the Common Travel Area, that North South cooperation can continue and develop, and that the Single Electricity Market will be maintained on the island of Ireland. It also includes commitments to ensure no diminution of rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity as set out in the Good Friday Agreement and confirms that people in Northern Ireland will continue to enjoy their rights as EU citizens. The Protocol also makes clear that these arrangements fully respect the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the principle of consent under the Good Friday Agreement. All of this is aimed at ensuring that impact of Brexit on the everyday lives of people, both North and South, is minimised and that the status quo on the island is protected.
I have continued to engage directly with my EU counterparts, and with the Commission with regard to the ratification and implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the EU and the British Government. On 21 January, I met with Mr. Michel Barnier, who expressed his ongoing support for our position on the backstop and agreed that the Withdrawal Agreement remained the best way to ensure an orderly UK withdrawal that fully protected the Good Friday Agreement. He echoed his statements of 16 January; that the backstop must remain a backstop, and it must be credible.
In all my meetings, I am struck by the continued solidarity and unity of our EU partners with Ireland on the issue of the backstop, and I am grateful for their continued public and private expressions of support.
Following the vote in Westminster on 15 January, and as the President of the Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, has stated, what we need from the UK is clarity on how it proposes to move forward. We will then consider what next steps to take with our EU partners.
