In Luxembourg on 21 June, the EU27 ministers for European Affairs expressed their “solidarity” with Northern Ireland and their “total unity” on the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is “indispensable” and “non-negotiable”, as the French minister for Europe, Clément Beaune, declared at the end of the meeting.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, which is being challenged by a UK bill (see EUROPE 12972/3), was the subject of a briefing with Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. “We have been reminded of our principles with calm, unity and firmness”, the minister summarised, adding that while the EU has always shown great flexibility, “contrary to what has been said”, and can still be flexible, “trust must be maintained” by the British government and “commitments respected”.
For the Vice-President, the latest actions of the British government are “unacceptable” and there was “general agreement that this is a violation of international law”. While the Commission has launched new legal actions, “our door remains open” to solutions, in spite of everything, he added. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)