Taoiseach Micheál Martin meets Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič

Taoiseach Micheál Martin met today (Friday) with Commissioner Šefčovič. They discussed international trade, including EU-US trade and ongoing efforts to build on the EU-US framework agreement, as well as follow-up to the EU-UK Summit of May. The Taoiseach met with the Commissioner ahead of his keynote address at the 'International Trade - The Challenges Ahead' Conference, jointly organised by the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA) and the European Commission Representation in Ireland.

Speaking after the meeting, the Taoiseach said:

"I was delighted to welcome Commissioner Šefčovič to Dublin and to thank him in person for his commitment to strengthening EU-UK relations and for his diligent work on safeguarding EU-US trade. His work in both these areas is crucial for Ireland given the deep and dynamic economic relationship we have with both the UK and the US.

"We agreed on the need to maintain the momentum created by the successful EU-UK Summit in May. I assured him of Ireland's strong support as he and his team work with the UK on implementing the significant outcomes from the Summit, including the Common Understanding. The Commissioner and I agreed that the full and faithful implementation of current agreements, including the Windsor Framework, is very important to sustaining progress on the implementation of the outcomes of the Summit.

"The Commissioner and I also discussed the ongoing work on implementation of the EU-US framework agreement on trade. This agreement brings clarity and a degree of certainty to what is an essential economic relationship for both Ireland and the EU. I expressed Ireland's active support for the Commissioner's work with the US aimed at building on the framework agreement and our keenness to work alongside the Commission in securing additional tariff exemptions, especially for spirits and medtech.

"I set out to the Commissioner Ireland's position as a strong advocate for open and fair trade and that we will always support efforts to diversify our markets through balanced EU free trade agreements. I underlined our commitment to ratifying CETA and welcomed progress in free trade negotiations with Indonesia and India."