EU DAG UNDER TCA KICKS OFF WORK
On 25 November, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) held its first meeting online. The meeting gathered experts from the European Commission’s DG Trade, the European Economic and Social Committee, industry, civil society and NGOs. The meeting kicked off its work with electing its Chair and Vice-Chairs, setting administrative arrangements for its internal working, and mapping of key priorities for the current mandate.
The EU DAG under the TCA saw an unprecedented level of interest from business, as it is the first of its kind to cover a wide range of topics falling under the agreement, including trade in goods, services and transport, and not focus exclusively on trade and sustainable development. The EU DAG will discuss, among many others, customs and trade facilitation aspects, which were identified by members as within the key priorities of work. Notedly, even though the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland of the Withdrawal Agreement is considered to fall outside the scope the DAG, members agreed to discuss challenges and solutions regarding its implementation, in light of its importance for the EU-UK economic relationship as a whole.
The next meeting of the EU DAG will be held in Q1 of 2022, back-to-back with the Civil Society Forum. In the meantime, the EU DAG will seek to establish first contact with its UK counterpart, which is set to meet for the first time later this month.