This morning will co-chair a meeting of the Partnership Council and
Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee at Admiralty House, London.
This is the first meeting of the Partnership Council, established
under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which supervises the
operation of the Agreement at a political level. The meeting will
cover issues including fish, SPS measures, customs and trade
facilitation and law enforcement.
The Joint Committee will include a discussion on Withdrawal
Agreement implementation issues, covering the Northern Ireland
Protocol and citizens’ rights.
Speaking ahead of the meeting said:
“Today’s historic first meeting of the UK-EU Partnership
Council marks an important milestone in our new relationship as
friendly trading partners and sovereign equals.
“Along with the Joint Committee, I hope this will be a
productive forum where we can address shared challenges by
working together in the spirit of mutual trust and
cooperation.
“First among these challenges is the damaging impact the
Protocol is having on the ground in Northern Ireland. Businesses
in Great Britain are choosing not to sell their goods into
Northern Ireland because of burdensome paperwork, medicine
manufacturers are threatening to cut vital supplies, and chilled
meats from British farmers destined for the Northern Ireland
market are at risk of being banned entirely.
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