Technical advisory group on alternative arrangements to the backstop established

Thursday, 20 June 2019 00:01

The Government has taken a significant step forward in delivering on its commitment to find workable alternatives to the Northern Ireland backstop by establishing an advisory group of technical experts in customs and trade to test ideas. The UK and EU have a shared desire to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements to ensure there is no hard border — and both sides have previously committed to prioritising the development of these in the next phase of...Request free trial

The UK and EU have a shared desire to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements to ensure there is no hard border — and both sides have previously committed to prioritising the development of these in the next phase of talks.

The Technical Alternative Arrangements Advisory Group is the first of three domestic advisory groups that the Government announced earlier this year. The second will be comprised of business and trade unions, and the third made up of parliamentarians.

These groups will help inform the UK’s negotiations with the EU on developing alternative arrangements to the Northern Ireland backstop, set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, with the aim of replacing it by December 2020 so that it is never needed.

The first meeting of the technical group will take place today (Thursday 20th June). It will be co-chaired by Brexit Secretary, Steve Barclay, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jesse Norman.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Steve Barclay, said:

“There has been considerable debate about the alternative arrangements that could be put in place to replace the backstop, including how we could harness the power of cutting-edge technologies, trusted trader schemes, and IT systems.

“There has also been shared recognition by both the UK Government and the EU Commission that this work must be an absolute priority as we shape the future partnership.

“The technical group will provide a forum for experts to discuss workable alternative arrangements, assessing both capability and timelines and bringing their significant experience to bear.”

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jesse Norman said:

“This group represents a broad spectrum of views and expertise, all of which will be needed to achieve our economic, fiscal and security objectives in the unique circumstances of the Northern Ireland land border.”

The technical group will bring together individuals from both the public and private sector, and academia, who have expertise on issues spanning law, customs, supply chains, cross-border trade and technology.

They will consider processes associated with the movement of goods across borders and options for simplifying them, such as trusted trader programmes and advanced use of data and IT systems.

The Government has made available £20 million of funding to support the development, testing or piloting of ideas, including those that emerge from these groups.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration set out the shared determination of the UK and the EU to replace the backstop solution in Northern Ireland with a subsequent agreement establishing alternative arrangements.
The UK and EU have agreed to give priority to a specific worksteam in the second phase of talks intended to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements.
In March the UK Government announced it intended to establish three advisory groups to inform the UK’s negotiations with the EU on this issue:
- an expert advisory group of technical experts in trade and customs - from the public and private sector, and academia, to ensure those with specialist expertise are involved;
- a business and trade union engagement group - to ensure that the views of those trading with the EU and the rest of the world inform the ongoing work;
- and a parliamentary engagement group - to allow Government to consult with Members of Parliament from across both Houses with an interest in the work. The Government is considering how best to take into account political views across Northern Ireland as part of this work.
The Government will announce the membership of the business and parliamentary groups in due course.
For more information call the DExEU press office at 020 7276 0432

TECHNICAL ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS:

Unless identified, members are representing themselves in a personal capacity.

Name	Biography
Steve Elliott	As Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association, Steve Elliott has expertise across a range of chemicals supply legislation, including chemicals management, energy, health and safety, trade and transport.
Michael Bell	Michael Bell has been Executive Director of Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association for over 23 years. He is Vice President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and Senior Vice Chairman of the Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council. He is also a member of the Northern Ireland Food and Feed Advisory Panel.
Mike Thompson	Mike Thompson is Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, having moved from GlaxoSmithKline where he was most recently Senior Vice President for Global Commercial Strategy and Platforms.
Dominique Willems	Dominique Willems is an expert in customs, logistics and information technology and is senior manager at the European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services.
Allie Renison	Allie Renison is the Institute of Directors’ Head of EU and Trade Policy. She leads on devising recommendations and representing the voice of members on EU policy matters both to Westminster and Whitehall and with European institutions.
Hans Maessen	Hans Maessen has been an entrepreneur in the European customs industry for 35 years and was chairman of the Dutch Association of Customs Brokers for 8 years, until 2015. He is interested in innovation in customs legislation and techniques, and advises businesses and governments.
Declan Billington	Declan Billington is a board member of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, as well as the Chief Executive of John Thompson and Sons Ltd. He is also a past Chair of both the CBI Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association.
Ruth Corkin	Ruth Corkin is the Director of Indirect Tax at Hillier Hopkins LLP. She is a member of the VAT Practitioners Group and the HMRC’s Joint VAT Consultative Committee.
Pablo Muñiz	Pablo Muñiz is head of the customs practice at law firm Van Bael & Bellis. He specialises in EU trade law, with a particular emphasis on customs law, which he has practised in Brussels since 2001.
Dr David Smith	Dr Smith is the Director of Central Technology at Rolls Royce and prior to this, he has been Managing Director of three engineering consultancies; at Ricardo (automotive engineering), at PA Consulting (commercial technology) and at Roke (sensors and software).
Tim Mairs (representing PSNI)	Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs is responsible for the Innovation and Standards Department at the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). He joined the PSNI in 2002.
Peter MacSwiney	Peter MacSwiney is Chairman of Agency Sector Management, a customs clearance software company, as well as a co-chair of HMRC’s Joint Customs Consultative Committee. He is also a member of HMRC’s programme board tasked with replacing the UK’s current customs handling system.
Dr Katy Hayward	A Reader in Social Divisions and Conflict at Queen’s University Belfast, Dr Katy Hayward is a Senior Fellow in the 'UK in a Changing Europe' initiative, specialising in Northern Ireland. She is an academic member of the International Border Management and Technologies Association. She also acts as a non-executive board member of the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh.
Dr Lorand Bartels	Dr Bartels is a Reader in International Law at the University of Cambridge, where he teaches WTO law.
Dr Graham Gudgin	Dr Gudgin is Policy Exchange’s Chief Economic Adviser, an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Business Research and a former Special Adviser to the First Minister in the Northern Irish Assembly.