Joint statement by European Commission Vice-President and the Secretary of State
for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs, the Rt Hon
MP, 24 March 2023:
The European Union and the United Kingdom today held the tenth
meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and second
meeting of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement Partnership
Council in London. The meetings took place in a constructive
atmosphere building on the excellent cooperation between the
Foreign Secretary and the Vice-President over recent months.
The Joint Committee welcomed the positive approach of both sides
and adopted the new arrangements set out in the Windsor
Framework. These arrangements address, in a definitive manner,
the challenges in the operation of the Protocol on
Ireland/Northern Ireland over the last 2 years and the everyday
issues faced by people and businesses in Northern Ireland, while
supporting and protecting the Good Friday or Belfast Agreement in
all its parts, and protecting the integrity of the European
Union’s Single Market, and Northern Ireland’s place in the United
Kingdom’s internal market. Both sides agreed to work together
intensively and faithfully to implement all elements of the
Windsor Framework. The United Kingdom and European Union also
reaffirmed their intent to use all available mechanisms in the
Framework to address and jointly resolve any relevant future
issues that may emerge.
The Joint Committee also covered other important issues under the
Withdrawal Agreement, in particular their joint work to protect
the rights of EU citizens and UK nationals, addressing all
relevant issues. Both sides agreed on the importance of
continuing to support these citizens, and welcomed the efforts
made over the past year to do so, including additional funding
provided by both sides to external organisations.
The co-chairs also adopted the Withdrawal Agreement Annual Report
for the year 2021 pursuant to Article 164(6) of the Withdrawal
Agreement.
At the Partnership Council, the parties discussed implementation
of the TCA
and cooperation in a range of crucial areas including energy,
trade and security and agreed on next steps.
Energy: They underlined the importance of collaboration over the
past year as Europe decouples from Russian fossil fuels and
highlighted the importance of dialogue on security of supply.
They confirmed their commitment to progress work on the
electricity trading arrangements envisaged in the TCA. They also discussed
the EU Green Deal Industrial Plan.
Trade: They looked forward to the signing of Memoranda of
Understanding on financial services and on intellectual property
soon. They agreed to finalise preparation for the Working Groups
in the areas of Technical Barriers to Trade as a matter of
priority. They also discussed the UK Retained EU Law Bill and
Bill of Rights Bill.
Security: They noted the close collaboration in support of
Ukraine, and looked forward to dialogue provided for under the
TCA in the
areas of cybersecurity and counterterrorism. They also discussed
the implementation of data protection safeguards for Passenger
Name Records.
Union Programmes: They noted the openness of both sides to take
forward discussions on association in the coming weeks.
The European Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom
reaffirmed their desire to exploit fully the potential of the
Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and maximise the potential of
the relationship between the EU and the UK in ways that benefit
both parties.
They agreed to remain in regular contact and looked forward to
meeting again to take stock of the work of the Committees under
the TCA.
You can read the Windsor Framework
documents.
