So, some interesting developments on the controversy over the EU's request for an office in Belfast, which has now been twice rejected by the UK
1/ On February 12 @HelgaSchmid_EU, the sec gen of the EU's diplomatic service (EEAS), wrote to her counterpart Sir Simon McDonald, perm sec of the Foreign Office, asking for an EU presence in Northern Ireland after the transition period ends on December 31
2/ Schmid said Article 12 of the Irish Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement provided for EU customs and veterinary officials to oversee checks and controls on goods moving GB-NI. Therefore they needed an office in Belfast to work out of.
3/ In the letter, seen by @rtenews, Schmid wrote that such officials would have “very particular capabilities and competences on the ground, distinctive from the more traditional competences of any other EU delegation.”
4/ The EU requested that the office be up and running "in the summer of 2020" to give staff time to prepare for December 31
5/ Sir Simon McDonald sent what was by all accounts a terse reply saying it would not be appropriate for the EU to have a presence in Belfast
6/ The EU sent a follow up letter on March 25, pressing the case. Article 12 gave the EU certain rights. “It is necessarily within the discretion of the EU to determine the extent to which it wishes to exercise these rights,” Schmid wrote.
7/ For the EU to avail of these rights "on an ongoing basis" and to do so effectively, she stressed, "an office in Belfast staffed by technical experts is indispensable.”
8/ This time there was second rejection in a longer letter, sent by @PennyMordaunt, minister of state, on Monday of this week. Article 12 did not require an EU delegation office, “or indeed any other permanent EU presence in Northern Ireland,” wrote Mordaunt.
9/ Furthermore, since unionist parties had rejected the request, the EU office idea had “attracted controversy, [which] would in our view be divisive in political and community terms.”
10/ The issue was raised at the first meeting of the Specialised Committee on Thursday, which brings together EU and UK officials to oversee how the Protocol is being implemented. The UK expressed disbelief at the EU request. Effectively it had come like a bolt from the blue
11/ UK sources said the idea had never been discussed by both sides during the negotiations that led to the Protocol being agreed by Boris Johnson last October.
12/ HOWEVER... the idea *had* been discussed. And by none other than Helga Schmid and Sir Simon McDonald, back in February 2019..
13/ It turns out there was an exchange of letters between both senior officials back then. Schmid had raised the issue of keeping an EU presence in Belfast because of the Irish Protocol, which at that stage, of course, was the backstop. The EU wd also keep supporing PEACE funds
14/ On February 11, 2019 Sir Simon replied. Not only did the UK support the idea of a continued presence in Belfast, it supported EU offices in Edinburgh and Cardiff as well...
15/ An extract of Sir Simon's letter, seen by @rtenews, reads: “The UK government supports the continued presence of EU offices in Edinburgh and Cardiff, alongside London and Belfast, given the longstanding relationship the EU has with all devolved nations…”
16/ Yet just 12 months later the same Sir Simon summarily rejected Schmid's request to revive the issue.
17/ In her letter, Schmid had even referred to the pair's correspondence on the issue the previous February.
18/ Schmid wrote: "Dear Simon, Now that the United Kingdom has withdrawn from the [EU] and that the Withdrawal Agreement has entered into force, I would like to come back on the issue of Belfast and other regional offices, as a follow up to my letter of 26 February 2019"
19/ Yet the UK side maintained in Thursday's Specialised Committee meeting that Schmid's request on February 12 of this year was out of the blue, and a highly insensitive request, given that the two govts had just restored the Stormont assembly
12/ An EU official told @rtenews “The UK cannot have been taken by surprise by this. The possibility of opening an office in Belfast has been discussed for a long time at this stage. The EU has been consistent on this point.”
13/ I'll have the full story on the @rtenews website from 8am this morning Irish time...
