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Now, standing here, it is inevitable that our minds turn back to the speech of the then UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, to Bloomberg in 2013. That was the occasion on which he laid out his vision for the future of the European Union, as well as his intention to hold a referendum on continued UK membership.
I must admit that it is hard not to see a certain sense of irony, in hindsight, in Mr Cameron arguing against – quote – “simply hoping a difficult situation will go away” – end of quote.
Because that speech set in motion a train of events which are still ongoing today, nearly a decade later.
We indeed find ourselves in a difficult situation, which will most certainly not simply disappear.
That is why I hope we are close to reaching the end of this particular cycle. You may not hear this often from a European Commissioner, but it is high time we got Brexit done.
When Mr Cameron made his remarks, Europe was a very different place. Unfortunately, his assertation that Winston Churchill's “twin marauders” of war and tyranny had been banished from our continent has proven incorrect.
But in the face of Russia's brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine, it is clearer than ever before that the EU and the UK are natural allies – given our historic bond, our shared values, and our common challenges, global in nature.
Together with other partners, we have shown in our response to Moscow's aggression that we will continue to stand side by side in the name of peaceful democracy.
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The European Union seeks to have a strategic, enduring and mutually beneficial partnership with the United Kingdom.
We value what we accomplished together during the UK's EU membership, spanning almost five decades. And we respect the decision of UK voters to leave our union, as well as the type of Brexit the UK government chose.
This respect is perhaps best demonstrated in the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The Protocol marks the first time that the EU has entrusted the control of its economic border to an outside partner. In practice, we adjusted our rules, allowing Northern Ireland to maintain access to the EU's Single Market for goods.
I agree with Prime Minister Johnson's assessment from 2019 that the Protocol is fully compatible with the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement.
In fact, thanks to the Protocol, we prevented a hard border on the island of Ireland, and ensured that Northern Ireland can continue to benefit from the peace process in full.
For these very reasons, the EU cannot – and will not – accept this delicate balance being unilaterally and illegally disapplied because of an outright U-turn by the UK government.
So, in short – the Protocol embodies trust. Trust in the political process. Trust between the EU and the UK. Trust in international agreements.
Trust is the essence of any true partnership. Therefore, rather than eroding it or breaking it, there must be a genuine determination to build the kind of cooperation we need in today's world.
I am convinced that this is what people in both the UK and the EU deserve. And this is my main message today....
The UK is, of course, fully entitled to diverge from the EU, if it wishes to do so. But this regulatory divergence has limits as well as consequences.
For instance, in the area of financial services, data, and certain food products, the EU's unilateral decision to grant market access is conditioned on the UK's current regulatory framework. In other words, an end of mutual recognition is a possibility if the UK changes its standards.
We will therefore be watching developments closely...
more at European Commission