Ireland's concerns about the Border and the Northern Ireland peace process should be taken into account in the looming Brexit negotiations, the Dutch foreign minister has said.
Bert Koenders said the Netherlands "fully recognised" the specific concerns of the Government and believed these should be taken on board when talks on the UK's withdrawal get under way.
One of the Government’s diplomatic objectives since British voters opted to leave the EU has been to impress on fellow member states the unique problems Brexit could pose for Ireland.
A number of other EU states have already acknowledged the close trade links between Britain and Ireland, as well as question marks over the Border, the common travel area and the Northern peace process, will have to be taken into account when talks on the UK’s withdrawal begin.
"Both the Netherlands and Ireland are very, very closely related to the economy of the United Kingdom, " Mr Koenders said after a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan in Dublin on Wednesday.
“We understand the specific concerns that Ireland has, politically and historically, and we think it’s important to give specific acknowledgment of those interests as well. We will definitely move in the direction of supporting these kinds of concerns in negotiations over the coming weeks and months.”
The timeline for those talks remains unclear, but Mr Flanagan said it was important for the UK to formally invoke article 50 of the European treaties – the mechanism for a member state’s withdrawal – “at a very early stage next year”. He was concerned that a protracted period of uncertainty could be “a risk” to the European project: “I believe it’s important that there be clarity.”
Common ground
Ireland and the Netherlands both see in Brexit the loss of an important ally at the European table, in particular on trade, tax and the broad liberal economic agenda where the three states find common ground. Mr Koenders alluded to this, remarking the effects of losing “one of our main allies” would have “profound” effects on Ireland and the Netherlands.
He also warned of the dangers of a drawn-out period of uncertainty but said an “orderly” withdrawal was vital. The ball was “now in the court of the United Kingdom”, he added.
Mr Flanagan said last month that, having spoken to all his EU counterparts since the British referendum, he was encouraged by the support for Ireland’s position but stopped short of saying he had received any firm commitments ahead of the talks.
On a visit to Dublin in July, French president François Hollande said he recognised Ireland found itself in a “special situation” that had to be given its place in the negotiations.
But German chancellor Angela Merkel was non-committal, saying after talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in July that Dublin's voice would be heard "as much as anyone else's" in the upcoming talks between the EU and London.
