Ibec welcomes European Commission proposals on the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has welcomed proposals by the European Commission on the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said: “The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol, must work together to enable positive relations and opportunity to address shared economic challenges.

“The Protocol is the creative solution to a series of mutually exclusive problems to facilitate the UK’s departure from the EU while at the same time protecting the Good Friday Agreement that is underpinning peace and prosperity on our shared island and ensuring the integrity of the EU single market. It must be supported and advanced on a continuous basis through close collaboration between business and government in Ireland, the EU, the UK, and Northern Ireland.

“For the business community the priority is to stabilise the EU-UK relationship and ensure the continued seamless flow of goods north and south. Business welcomes the Commission’s proposals for pragmatic solutions to ease the flow of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland which respect the integrity of the EU Single Market. Business urges the UK Government and Commission to seize this opportunity to work together to ensure a sustainable implementation of the Protocol.”