On Tuesday 21 September, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, welcomed the support received from the Ministers for European Affairs for his work with the United Kingdom, which has been aimed at resolving the difficulties related to the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. But he also warned London at the end of the General Affairs Council, that this “process is not eternal” and that all the problems on the table will have to be solved “before the end of the year, that’s my timetable!”
Mr Šefčovič will soon present proposals to his British partners, with whom he also said he was in “very regular” contact, including with Minister David Frost, which he considered positive.
These “practical” proposals should make people’s daily lives easier and will focus on how to make trade in goods more fluid or how to involve civil society and stakeholders more in trade with the EU.
But while practical solutions must be found, and the EU will “do all it can” to achieve this, it will be within the framework of the current protocol. “We will not renegotiate”, the Vice-President insisted, and he also received this message from the ministers.
The Vice-President called on London to remain positive and not to “create additional tensions” as Prime Minister Boris Johnson regularly threatens to activate Article 16 of the protocol.
Paris, for its part, has expressed some concerns about the fishing quotas and licences granted to French fishers. Here again, the Vice-President assured France of the support of the EU-27 and also committed himself to finding solutions with London. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)