Minister of State for Northern Ireland visits CCBS

Steve Baker, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, visited the Centre for Cross Border Studies office in Armagh to meet with the CCBS team and members of the Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation. During the meeting they discussed North-South and East-West cooperation, cross-border mobility and rights and equality issues.

Drawing together a range of organisations from Northern Ireland and Ireland, the Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation was established to act as a prime contact point for purposes of meaningful consultation between cross-border civil society and regional, national and EU bodies on matters relevant to cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. The group is convened by Dr Anthony Soares, Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies.

The primary objective of the Ad-Hoc Group is to secure the continued means to cooperate within and between these islands, ensuring that agreements, policies or legislation developed or enacted by relevant regional/devolved and national governments and/or the European Union are conducive of the maintenance of the conditions necessary for cooperation within and between the island of Ireland and with Great Britain.

We were delighted to have the opportunity to meet with the Minister to discuss these important issues, and will continue to engage with policymakers to ensure the voices of civil society are heard as we seek to ensure the necessary conditions for cross-border cooperation are maintained in the post-Brexit context.