Tweet

Tony Connelly

23 Feb, 10 tweets, 2 min read

@MarosSefcovic

.@MarosSefcovic [on the NI Protocol]: there are "consequences" of the UK leaving the EU and becoming a third country. This is very well reflected in the Protocol and in the TCA.

2/ "The EU will always remain constructive and solution driven, but I've also reminded my British partners that this must be a two way street. We've had a very intense session in Dec to make sure entry points [ie BCPs] would be up and ready by the middle of this year...

3/ "...that we would have real time access to the IT customs systems which would smooth further customs formalities, that we would more information on how the trusted trader scheme is working for GB distributors to make sure supermkts in NI are properly supplied."

4/ "I can go on and on with the list". Sefcovic says he wants feedback from UK at tomorrow's Joint Committee meeting on how "flexibilities" and grace periods are being used. He says this is a prerequisite for the Commission and MS to assess any further requests for flexibilities

5/ He adds: "Not everything can be solved. There are inevitable consequences of Brexit, and simply we have to follow EU law, we have to follow the agreement we just signed

6/ Sefcovic says: "We can do our utmost to minimise the disruption to the daily lives of citizens on the island of Ireland. The best response to make sure this disruption is minimised to the extent possible is full implementation of the Protocol.

7/ Sefcovic says there is "strong support" for this approach from EU member states.

8/ He concludes: "Being in the single market and the UK internal market of the UK is actually a great business opportunity, and I hope our joint work between the UK and EU will amplify this possibility, but of course we need to make changes on the ground, adapt to the new system.

9/ "In the teething period it can be cumbersome and difficult, but we have a Joint Cttee and a Partnership Council to look for a good solution for the people on the island of Ireland and later on for the smooth implementation and operation of the TCA."

10/ So, ahead of tomorrow's Joint Committee meeting on the NI protocol it looks like the EU is taking a hard line on the UK implementing what was agreed in December before talking about any major changes, or new flexibilities.

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More from @tconnellyRTE

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

25 Feb

Breaking: The EU would be prepared to look at a bilateral veterinary agreement with the UK as a way around many of the food safety and animal health trade barriers associated with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

@MarosSefcovic

2/ The suggestion was made by the European Commission vice president @MarosSefcovic in an interview with @rtenews.

“We would be ready to discuss [the issue] with our UK partners. What are their ideas and what can we do to find a solution?” he said.

3/ Mr Šefčovič said he raised the issue with his UK counterpart Michael Gove yesterday evening during a meeting of the EU UK Joint Committee, which is tasked with implementing the Protocol.

Read 14 tweets

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

24 Feb

@michaelgove

Here's a more detailed breakdown on this evening's Joint Committee mtg between @michaelgove and @MarosSefcovic and their teams (@DUPleader and @moneillsf joined the meeting and made interventions)

2/ The meeting lasted around 90 minutes, and said to have been "heavy". Much of it appears to have focused on the European Commission's view that the UK is not implementing the flexilibities and obligations from last December's Gove-Sefcovic side agreement

3/ The UK is pressing for extensions to two grace periods from that Dec deal, one 3 month period (absolving GB-NI agrifood suppliers from expensive export health certificates) and one 6 month period, suspending the ban on sausages, non-frozen mince etc

Read 14 tweets

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

24 Feb

Joint statement by the co-chairs of the EU-UK Joint Committee

“The European Union and the United Kingdom today held the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee following the end of the transition period.

2/ “The parties welcomed the progress made on citizens’ rights in recent weeks in implementing the rights of UK nationals in the EU and EU citizens in the UK under the Withdrawal Agreement, and reiterated the importance of communication and support to the most vulnerable.

3/ “Further to the meeting of the Joint Committee co-chairs on 11 February 2021, the EU and the UK also took stock of the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and of work to find pragmatic solutions.

Read 8 tweets

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

23 Feb

@MarosSefcovic

NEW: update on the earlier thread on @MarosSefcovic's comments on the NI Protocol...

@michaelgove

2/ Following today's Specialised Committee mtg, which prepares the groundwork for tomorrow's more political Joint Committee (@michaelgove + Sefcovic), the message is that if the EU is to agree any extensions to grace periods they must be a bridge to a permanent settled state

3/ And any extensions will only be considered if the UK is showing it is implementing the Dec 17 Gove-Sefcovic deal on the Protocol (ie, granting access to databases etc)

Read 15 tweets

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

22 Feb

@simoncoveney

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs @simoncoveney has said there could be freer flowing trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the Protocol if the UK agreed to align more closely to EU food safety and animal and plant health standards.

2/ A vetinary agreement between both sides, or some form of “equivalence” arrangement, could lower trade barriers in areas where the UK is demanding flexibility from the European Commission, such as seed potatoes, seeds, potted plants, and pets, he said.

3/ Speaking following a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, Mr Coveney said: “In some of those cases the UK government has the capacity to facilitate that change if they want to agree to a different approach when it comes to equivalence of standards, for example.

Read 11 tweets

Tony Connelly

@tconnellyRTE

22 Feb

@davidmcallister

The Chair of the European Parliament's UK Coordination Group @davidmcallister has said there will be no “thorough review” of the NI Protocol, nor any amendments to it.

2/ However, he said there should be "flexible" and "pragmatic" solutions found, so long as they were in line with the principles at the heart of the Protocol.

3/ These principles were “to avoid a hard border between the Republic and NI, to enable the true functioning of the all-island economy and safeguarding the GFAin all its dimensions, and to ensure the integrity of our single market for goods..."

Read 9 tweets

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