Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission in Brussels, through Vice President Maros Spvković, described the joint meetings between the European Union and Britain that took place on Thursday as very important meetings, and said, “First, we met with the United Kingdom in the context of the joint committee between the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding the Withdrawal Agreement and the European Union Association Council.” And the United Kingdom under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. According to what was stated in a statement issued by the European Executive in Brussels, the European official added through the statement, “In the joint committee that I co-chaired with Foreign Minister David Cameron, we discussed two issues that constitute the necessary cornerstone of our relationship with the United Kingdom: Implementing the Windsor Framework and the issue of citizens' rights.
Regarding citizens' rights, this remains a clear priority for the European Union, including the European Parliament and Member States – therefore, we cannot let our guard down as it affects real life.
Simply put, in this important area, all beneficiaries on both sides must always enjoy all the rights guaranteed by the Withdrawal Agreement.
I am pleased that we share this commitment. The hard work continues.
Turning to the Windsor Framework: Let me start by emphasizing that the Framework is a remarkable achievement with tangible benefits for people and businesses in Northern Ireland – and, therefore, requires and deserves faithful implementation in all its dimensions.
This has already been achieved on the ground.
Therefore, I am pleased that we have agreed to intensify our work and efforts to ensure that all elements of the Windsor Framework are put into practice in a timely and honest manner.
At the Association Council, our goal remains the same: to fully exploit the potential offered by our Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
I believe that the achievements we have seen since the last Association Council in March last year speak for themselves – Horizon Europe, Copernicus, or regulatory cooperation in financial services, to name a few.
Today we discussed in particular issues of climate, energy, health security, fisheries and competition, as well as security in general.
We have identified a number of areas where the EU and the UK can deepen their cooperation. We look forward to holding more than 25 meetings of our joint bodies under the TCA this year alone.
There is no doubt that the European Union and the United Kingdom face many common challenges, which are often global in nature. Take Russia's war against Ukraine or climate change - we greatly value our close cooperation on these issues.
In this context, I believe that today's Partnership Council has set the right course for our joint work within the framework of the TCA.
Following these two important meetings, I hosted talks on Gibraltar with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, as well as Gibraltar Prime Minister Fabian Picardo.
This was our second meeting in this format, building on the significant progress made on 12 April.
As we said, the discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, and witnessed important breakthroughs and additional areas of agreement.
We are all reassured that an agreement is approaching and we will work closely and quickly on the outstanding areas in order to reach a comprehensive agreement between the EU and the UK.
Today's meeting reaffirmed our shared commitment to concluding an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, to bring confidence, legal certainty and stability to the lives and livelihoods of the people of the entire region, by protecting and improving the economy, trade, mobility, environment and social well-being. While maintaining the legal positions of all parties. We all agreed to remain in close and continuous contact.