The European Commission has today set out its principles for the political dialogue on Ireland and Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Today’s paper states that the Good Friday Agreement should continue to be protected and strengthened in all its parts after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. The continuation of the Common Travel Area should also be recognised.
The European Commission has also published today four other position papers on customs, intellectual property, public procurement and use of data. All four papers relate to the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU and aim to ensure that there is legal clarity on the date of the UK’s withdrawal.
The paper on customs clarifies the status of goods circulating in the Single Market at the time of withdrawal. As for public procurement, ongoing procedures at the time of withdrawal should continue to be covered by EU law. For intellectual property issues, the EU’s position is to give certainty to right holders and those who will be in the process of acquiring rights at the time of withdrawal.
The paper on the use of data ensures that data obtained by the UK before its withdrawal is properly protected. In keeping with the Commission’s transparency policy, all papers have been published on the Taskforce 50 website. They will be discussed at the Council Working Party (Art 50) and are fully in line with the mandate provided to the Commission in the European Council guidelines and the Council’s negotiating directives. Today’s papers bring the total number of EU position papers to 14.
