The Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Interinstitutional Affairs, Maroš Šefčovič, and the British Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, discussed again on Thursday 11 February in London solutions to facilitate the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol annexed to the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The objective is to make life easier for companies in Northern Ireland and Great Britain affected by the new Brexit reality.
But, as expected, Mr Šefčovič did not respond to the UK request to extend the grace period for certain customs controls until 2023.
In a letter prior to the meeting, he had already indicated that efforts should be made to apply the current protocol and had even pointed out British shortcomings which could partly explain the difficulties encountered locally (see EUROPE 12656/15).
In their joint statement issued on Thursday evening after what was described as a “frank but constructive discussion”, the two men reiterated “their full commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, and to the proper implementation of the protocol—protecting the gains of the peace process, maintaining stability, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and impacting as little as possible on the everyday life of communities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland”.
Both parties undertake to “spare no effort to implement solutions mutually agreed on 17 December, as they form a foundation for our cooperation”, which includes access to UK information systems. They also agreed to “intensify the work of the Specialised Committee on the protocol in order to address all outstanding issues, with the shared objective to find workable solutions on the ground”.
The next Joint Committee will be convened no later than 24 February.
On the morning of Wednesday 10 February, the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU discussed the subject at an informal breakfast with Mr Šefčovič. Going around the table, they confirmed the refusal of Member States to extend the grace period until 2023, said one diplomat.
“The [Northern Ireland] protocol avoids the problems associated with Brexit. It is therefore essential for the United Kingdom to return to full application” of this mechanism, continued this source, referring to a consensus discussion on this point.
Discrimination against five Member States on visas
The S&D group in the European Parliament expressed concern on Thursday 11 February about discrimination by the UK against five Central and Eastern European countries that are not covered by tariff reductions for certain visas, including work permits.
In a letter to the Commission Vice-President, several Social Democrat group MEPs ask why citizens of Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia and Lithuania do not benefit from the £55 reduction granted to citizens of 21 other EU member states to qualify for certain UK visas, especially for programmes for entrepreneurs and health workers, researchers, charity workers, medium-skilled workers and temporary workers.
Ireland, having established a common travel zone with the United Kingdom, enjoys a special status.
“Such a decision is fuelling unnecessary differentiation and discrimination between EU citizens”, say the signatories of the letter, who ask Mr Šefčovič “how to get out of this situation”.
The United Kingdom justifies this difference in treatment by a Council of Europe Social Charter that these five countries have not signed, the British government explained recently, quoted by Politico.
Link to the S&D letter: http://bit.ly/377JkQp (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)