The second meeting of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee was held today in Brussels, co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and European Commission.
A representative from the Northern Ireland Executive also attended as part of the UK delegation in line with the commitment made in the New Decade, New Approach deal.
The UK and the EU exchanged updates on the implementation of the Protocol and discussed the preparatory work for future decisions to be taken by the Joint Committee.
The UK reiterated that our approach will at all times be focused on protecting the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and gains of the peace process. We reiterated the central importance of protecting Northern Ireland's place in the UK's customs territory as set out in our Command Paper.
Both the UK and the EU noted the intensification of technical discussions, as agreed in the Joint Committee last month. The UK also noted its intention to provide further guidance to businesses in Northern Ireland in the coming weeks.
