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‘I do not need any political victory here, I want to find a solution’ - Šefčovič

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European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič made his first visit to Northern Ireland this week. At the end of two days of intense meetings with business, civil society and local politicians he laid out his approach at a press conference at the end of his visit: “I do not need any political victory here, I want to find a solution, which would represent a win-win for all, first and foremost for the people of Northern Ireland.”

“My major takeaway was engagement, focusing on solving problems and continuation of our contacts,” said Šefčovič. “We are ready to walk the extra mile to look for solutions and we hope that we can do it in a calm and constructive atmosphere.”

He said that over the past two days he had heard a lot about SPS, access to goods, medicines in particular, and involvement of Northern Irish stakeholders. However, he added that people were not dwelling on scrapping the oversight of the European Court of Justice, a sine qua non of enjoying the free movement of goods. 

“I haven't heard from anyone who thought it would be a good idea to miss out on the chance to be part of the biggest single market in the world cost free, because the people here know that, for example, Norway pay more than €3 billion for being in the market for each financial financial perspective.” He urged politicians to focus on the everyday concerns of people and the interests of business. 

Šefčovič underlined the EU’s unwavering commitment to the people of Northern Ireland, but called for honesty: “The European Union cannot be blamed for the costs of Brexit. Brexit made it necessary to find an agreement on how to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. After years of long, complex negotiations, we found a solution with the UK in the form of the Protocol.”

“Removing the Protocol will not solve any issues. It is the best solution we found with the UK to address the unique situation of the island of Ireland, and the challenges created by the type of Brexit that the current UK government chose. Failing to apply the Protocol will not make problems disappear, but simply take away the tools to solve them.”

On the UK’s decision to unilaterally extend grace periods, he said: “The EU has demonstrated its goodwill. Earlier this week, we reacted in a cool and calm manner to the UK's statement regarding the continuation of existing grace periods.

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“We did this in order to create a constructive atmosphere for our ongoing discussions.

In conclusion, let me stress one important thing: our overarching objective is to establish a positive and stable relationship with the United Kingdom.

“After five years in which clarity and stability have often been lacking, we now have a solid basis on which to cooperate – the Withdrawal Agreement, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”

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