EU ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss their relations with the United Kingdom amidst hope of improving on the Brexit deal.
Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and for Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, is attending the meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels.
Yesterday, the European Commissioner for relations with the UK, Maroš Šefčovič, said that the EU is interested in “enhancing strategic cooperation with the UK” in three areas.
The EU wants to make a new security deal with the UK because it “is necessary in the face of unprecedented geopolitical challenges in our neighbourhood”, said Šefčovič, referring to the war in Ukraine.
The UK is also keen on a security agreement. Security and defence was largely left out of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
But the UK is more reluctant when it comes to anything that touches on free movement of people or youth mobility schemes.
Šefčovič said he wanted to see a “rebuilding [of] bridges for our young people to live, study and work on other sides of the channel.”
The British are sceptical about that idea because they have calculated more Europeans would go to study in the UK than Brits would go to the EU.
Financially the UK thinks it will therefore lose out. And the extra students will inflate migration statistics, which remains a sensitive topic.
Many EU voices would like to go even further and see the UK rejoin the Erasmus scheme, but this looks unlikely right now.
Unlike other EU nationals, Irish citizens continue to have the right to live and study in the UK.
When it comes to economics, Maroš Šefčovič said that there was potential to improve on the existing Brexit deals in areas including fisheries, farming, energy and in relation to climate change.
“We aim to consolidate and advance cooperation on sustainable fisheries, climate and energy and SPS [Sanitary and Phytosanitary, food safety rules] and we seek to fully exploit the potential of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including deepening cooperation on security of supply and implementing electricity trading arrangements”, he said.
The British government has previously said it wants a so-called veterinary agreement with the EU which would align the UK to the EU’s food safety rules doing away with some key checks at the border.
Heavy industry on both sides is interested in improved energy trade schemes and aligned rules on carbon trading.
The current fisheries agreement is due to expire next year and the EU would like to see it rolled over. But there is pressure from the British fishing industry for EU, including Irish, boats to lose more quota.
Maroš Šefčovič is expected to update ministers on the EU’s position on all these areas.
Ahead of the meeting, Minister Byrne said that it was an important moment.
“This is a highly significant relationship for Ireland and it is important that it develops in a positive way. The Irish Government looks forward to the EU-UK summit on 19 May, marking a strengthening of cooperation, between the EU and the UK”, he said.