Northern Ireland Protocol, January 2023: joint statement from the Foreign Secretary and Vice President Šefčovič

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris met via video conference today to discuss the work on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland since their last meeting on 9 January.

The two sides discussed the range of existing challenges over the last two years and the need to find solutions together to tackle comprehensively the real-life concerns of all communities in Northern Ireland and protect both Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market and the integrity of the EU’s Single Market.

They agreed that this scoping work for potential solutions should continue in a constructive and collaborative spirit, taking careful account of each other’s legitimate interests.