NORTHERN IRELAND EXECUTIVE OFFICE BRUSSELS DIRECTOR’S REPORT (JANUARY - JUNE 2015)

FOREWORD Andrew Elliott, Head of Office

I have the pleasure to present the first of four activity reports that will be prepared in 2015/16 to reflect the work of the Executive’s Office here in Brussels. The reports will show the extensive

and wide-ranging engagement that goes on in this city in order to seek to increase the value added through access to European Union institutions, through access to other European regions and through exhibiting our own region’s strengths and expertise. In a world that is more inter-connected than it has ever been before, largely as a result of new technologies, it remains paradoxically vital to have an effective

presence in a city where so many decisions are made that affect people and organisations throughout Northern Ireland. Many of the biggest risks faced by the Executive in regard to European matters are best tackled in a context of good working relationships among individuals who work in different institutions and organisations. I am grateful to my predecessor, Gerry Mulligan, for introducing me to many of the key contacts and networks that make meaningful engagement in Brussels easier. We have a strong presence in Brussels thanks to the work of Gerry and his predecessors, and we must make sure that the region makes the most of the opportunity. Continued close working with colleagues at home will be vital and I have recently engaged with all Executive departments in regard to their European

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priorities. The office is here to serve all Ministers and all Departments in the Executive, in a spirit of collaboration and partnership. I last worked in Brussels some 20 years ago. Though some things have changed a little, there are some fundamental differences between then and now. A major change is the overall level of risk that now attends the stability of the European Union and in particular the eurozone. The stakes associated with the current negotiations with Greece in regard to the servicing of that country’s debts are extremely high. Should current efforts fail, Euro-sceptic voices are likely to be further strengthened, in a context where a referendum on UK membership of the EU is anticipated within the next two years. The economic strength and financial stability of the EU is likely to remain a very high priority and a key factor in ensuring the future success of the European

project, which if it fails, has inevitable consequences for Northern Ireland. Another visible change is the presence of soldiers on the streets of Brussels, when 20 years ago, they would have been a more likely sight in Belfast. Their presence around the European institutions and in some other parts of the city is an indication that this is, in some respects, a less safe place than it was before. A more positive change has been the much more connected relationship between this region and the European Commission, particularly in the former Barroso Taskforce context. Indications are growing that there will be an announcement about this later in the year. A planned visit by Commissioner Corina Creţu, the Regional Policy Commissioner, to Northern Ireland in early July had to be cancelled at short notice, so any announcement now is more likely to be in the autumn.

COMMISSIONER VISITS

Although the visit by Commissioner Creţu did not take place, two other Commissioners have visited in recent months, so relative to its size, the region has had considerable attention from the Commission. First, the Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, visited Belfast and Newry in March 2015. His focus was on the scope for strategic investment in the agri-food industry and in rural areas. He argued the potential for investment to be stimulated through setting aside Rural Development Plan monies to lever further funds for low-

interest loans to projects that would otherwise be too risky to attract investment.

Commissioner Hogan addresses NI Assembly Committee for Agriculture & Rural Development

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The Commissioner met the Agriculture Minister, Michelle O’Neill, as well as a range of other agricultural and rural development stakeholders. The issue of European investment funds remained on the agenda when Commission Vice-President, Jyrki Katainen, visited Belfast on 22 May 2015 and met the Finance Minister, Arlene Foster, the Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell and Junior Minister Jennifer McCann, as well as a range of industry stakeholders. Mr Katainen is a particularly senior figure in European politics, having been Prime Minister of Finland until just last year. His visit was triggered by an invitation from the previous Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton.

Commission Vice-President, Jyrki Katainen with Ministers Simon Hamilton & Arlene Foster

Mr Katainen’s mission across Europe is to promote the Juncker Plan, which includes a €315 billion investment plan. This is built around a core fund of €21 billion mainly in the form of a guarantee from the European Commission together with some European Investment Bank funds. The aim is to lever private sector investment worth 15 times that amount. The European Investment Bank is playing

a key role, both in managing the fund and in making investment decisions. Whilst targeting traditional investments in projects covering healthcare, technology and energy, it also has a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. The main aim of the fund, known as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), is to mobilise finance that is already in existence, but has not found its way into riskier investments. Like other parts of Europe, our region has a chance to seek to identify projects that could benefit from investment of this kind. Close engagement with the European Investment Bank will be important in ensuring that projects identified are successful. An important part of the Bank’s responsibilities is to provide support and advice to those with project proposals. The Department of Finance and Personnel is in the lead on EFSI, but of course any department may be aware of potential projects that could benefit from the initiative. The office continues to work closely with the region’s three MEPs in the European Parliament in the interests of the region. Jim Nicholson, Diane Dodds and Martina Anderson all perform important roles within the European Parliament, which of course now has a much more important decision-making role following the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. A future report will provide more detail on the European Parliament role and in particular on our own MEPs and the positions they hold, as this can be an important means to influence policy and legislation. I am extremely conscious, in this new role, of having teams in both Belfast and Brussels and am grateful to them all for

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the highly professional support they have provided in recent months. As we seek to work towards a refreshed relationship with the Juncker Commission going forward, there is a major opportunity for departments across the Executive to look afresh at the region’s strategic priorities and to ensure that we maximise the opportunity that is afforded to us for the benefit of people and organisations throughout Northern Ireland and beyond.

We can use new technologies to trump our perceived peripherality and ensure much more sustained and regular engagement with Europe to resolve problems and seize opportunities going forward. This office will want, resources permitting, to be at the heart of that collaboration and to bring increased confidence to departments to engage successfully at EU level.

FORWARD LOOK Brian Smart, Deputy Head of Office

As Brussels approached the summer break, the end of term was filled with drama and uncertainty as the 19 Eurozone Member States worked tirelessly to find a lasting and secure future (for

this month at least) for the Euro and the continuance of Greece as a member of both the Eurozone and the EU. Failure to do so could bring catastrophic damage to European monetary union, undermining a central theme of the EU. This matter is likely to continue to absorb the time of key Commissioners and other senior EU officials in coming months and has, for example, already impacted on a Commissioner visit to Northern Ireland. From a Northern Ireland perspective, the second half of 2015 brings with it a

number of challenges for the Brussels Office and departments. Securing final agreement for the Rural Development Programme together with the Peace IV Programme are going to be key milestones for the Executive, and plans and preparations to secure the Commission’s agreement to both are well underway. We very much hope that Commissioner Creţu will visit Northern Ireland later in the year to make progress on structural funds and bring news about our relationship with the Juncker Commission. On the wider front, the Brussels Office looks forward to facilitating dialogue with Member States and Regions to develop relationships and build connections aimed at mutual working and understanding. In particular, we have embarked on a policy to reinvigorate contacts with the Basque, Catalan, Baden-Württemberg and Flanders regions, in particular, in relation to economic, trade and cultural policies.

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Strong links have existed over many years with these important EU regions. Most recently DEL has signed an MOU with the Basque region and the Assembly ETI Committee, assisted by the Brussels Office, visited Stuttgart in late March 2015 as part of the Committee’s inquiry into economic policy in relation to the potential introduction of a reduction to corporation tax in Northern Ireland. A invitation has been extended to colleagues from Stuttgart to visit Northern Ireland in the late autumn to show case our manufacturing industry, our further and higher education sectors together with our creative industries.

Representatives from Stuttgart Region with members of the Brussels Office and Michael Gould (DEL)

The Office has also been in discussions with National Museums Northern Ireland on staging a number of exhibitions in Brussels to highlight our rich cultural history. In another development, the Basque region’s capital, San Sebastian

has been designated as a European City of Culture for 2016 with the theme of ‘Peace Building’. They have extended an invitation for the Brussels Office and National Museums Northern Ireland to consider mounting an exhibition that recognises our path to peace as part of their City of Culture programme. Early discussions have taken place with National Museums Northern Ireland and DCAL officials on how this may be achieved. Since the UK general election, many questions are raised with us by European colleagues and partners on the implications of the UK Referendum on membership of the EU. This is expected by the end of 2017 and is of great interest and concern to most stakeholders Brussels. We expect this question, and the thought of how it may specifically impact on our region, to continue to be a feature of our ongoing engagement here. Early planning is beginning for the upcoming UK Presidency of the European Council (July-December 2017), and the opportunity for the Devolved Administrations to participate in this. Further consideration is being given to this matter, and we are in particular seeking more information from London about the nature of the Presidency.

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UPDATE FROM EUROPEAN LIAISON OFFICERS Úna Downey – Senior EU Liaison Officer (Economy)

Ben Martin – EU Liaison Officer (Environment) Keith Ruffles – EU Liaison Officer (Social)

In the period since the last report, the Liaison Officers have continued to support the activities of the three Thematic Working Groups by: • Developing relationships with regions

including Baden-Württemberg, the Basque Regions, Catalonia, Regione Piemonte, South Tyrol, Trentino, Aland and Republic of Moldova;

• Working with the other Devolved Administrations on matters of mutual interest including health, innovation, environmental issues, employment and social welfare;

• Developing programmes for Ministerial attendance at European Council and supporting throughout visits including on two occasions representing the UK at European Council Working Group meetings;

• Continuing to liaise with the UK Permanent Representation (UKRep) and Irish Permanent Representation (IRep) on the files arising at Presidency level and also on matters of ongoing interest to Thematic Group members;

• Providing support to MEPs and their constituents;

• Formation of the visit programme for the NI Assembly ETI Committee on

their fact finding mission to Stuttgart Region;

• Facilitating Ministerial and Senior Civil Servants visits to Brussels;

• Attendance at many key events/conferences and brokerage events in Brussels on behalf of Thematic Group members activities including: health; sustainable energy; wind power; circular economy; Smart Specialisation Strategy; Youth Guarantee; Erasmus+; Urbact III and Urban Innovation Actions; and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI); and

• Engaging with Working Group members and associated stakeholders on return visits to NI.

The European Liaison Officers continue to lead on the development of a Communications Strategy to support the work of the European Task Force Working Group. Of particular note is the newly launched website www.brusselsni.com. This is a significant achievement and will provide a much more Brussels focused platform for interested stakeholders.

During the period of the report, the Brussels Office Twitter account

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@BrusselsNI, developed by the team, has increased in followers again providing up to date feeds on events in Brussels and retweeting of information from the Institutions on funding programmes and policy development. It will now also be found on the website so providing one stop for Brussels based information. The Funding Gateway, now also available on the website, underwent a customer survey and amendments were made following feedback. This continues to be a work in progress with a current focus on highlighting the Open Calls information embedded in the document.

A database of regional offices has now also been completed. Based on the networks and contacts developed by European Liaison Officers and other colleagues, it will provide an information source for Brussels-based staff to target partnership calls, funding programme

collaboration and information sharing. European Liaison Officer Forward Look The Liaison Officers will continue to focus on the activities identified by the Thematic Group members based on their European Priorities including: the Paris talks on Climate Change; energy union; European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing; Digital Single Market; and EFSI developments. The priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency will be closely monitored for relevance to NI interests and work will continue at Member State level to highlight NI positions on the direction of Task Force members. The communications strategy will continue to be managed and monitored for potential improvements. One final element of the strategy will be to consider how partner searches for EU competitive programmes can be supported from a central point.

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AGRICULTURE POLICY REPORT Ciara Reynolds – Agriculture Policy Officer

On 4 May 2015, Andrew Elliott took part in a hearing with the European

Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural

Development Committee which

discussed simplification of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The hearing focussed on the experiences of panellists on the implementation of the CAP reform as well as on suggestions for possible solutions to make the CAP more user friendly. Andrew provided evidence to the committee on the experience of DARD as a paying agency and was joined on his panel by the Director General of the Paying agency of Romania and the

Director of the Direct Payment Agency at the Agency of Restructuration and Modernisation of Agriculture. The hearing also dealt with CAP simplification from the perspective of the farmers as well as a general overview on the current situation and feasible solutions for CAP simplification. The purpose of the hearing was to assess what changes would be necessary to make the existing rules more user-friendly whilst at the same time strengthening sound financial management and reducing red tape. The projected simplification of the CAP’s legislative framework was one of the first commitments made by Commissioner Hogan following his appointment and is a flagship initiative of the new European Commission. You can view the full committee hearing by following this link.

Andrew Elliott (3rd from right) sit on panel at European Parliament hearing on CAP Simplification

ONIEB welcomed Louise Warde Hunter, DARD Deputy Secretary, to Brussels. Louise attended the Agriculture and

Fisheries Council on 11 May. Whilst in town Louise took the opportunity to meet with Lowri Evans, Director-General for

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Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (after the visit Lowri’s move to DG GROW in September was announced) and other European Commission representatives in DG Agriculture where she highlighted the ongoing issues on country of origin labelling which were impacting local industry. Louise also had a useful meeting with Jim

Nicholson MEP followed by meetings with agricultural representatives from other Member States. As a conclusion to her busy programme, Louise took part in a discussion with representatives from the European Investment Bank who provided some details on the use of Financial Instruments which had been highlighted by Commissioner Hogan during his visit to Northern Ireland earlier this year.

LEGAL REPORT Aoife Rooney – Principal Legal Officer

Aoife Rooney is the Principal Legal Officer based in the Brussels Office, and her report is detailed below: ‘The period since the last report has allowed me to

build on my initial few months in Brussels Office, with a slowly expanding portfolio of departmental instructions. In terms of draft legislative proposals in the Parliament & Council, I take instructions to keep a watching brief on particular matters and I am currently watching the development and negotiation of legislative proposals for DOJ, DRD & DOE. I similarly monitor the European Court’s Opinions and Judgments for cases of relevance to Northern Ireland whilst also keeping an eye on specific cases as instructed e.g. the recent French judgment in Léger (concerning blood donations by gay men), the recent hearing in the Scotch Whisky

Association case (concerning Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol) and Patrick Breyer (ruling that the Commission may not automatically refuse access to the written submissions of Member States in proceedings before the Court of Justice on the grounds that they are documents used in court proceedings). Additionally I highlight to departments live cases at the European Courts and for which Northern Ireland may wish to seek the UK to intervene on its behalf. At the other end of the legislative process I am glad to work with teams drafting implementing legislation, which I am currently considering for DOJ along with other colleagues from DSO, and I am currently monitoring several UK infractions which engage NI. Aside from this I am happy to take instructions from Departments on discrete matters in providing research, support and thematic papers on matters of interest e.g. in connection with a possible UK withdrawal from the EU (BrExit). In terms of shaping draft European law I continue to network with officials in the

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other UK regions, UKRep & the Irish Representation and I am increasingly aware how important this is in ensuring that Northern Ireland - as a region rather than a Member State - builds solid relationships with those in the Member State representations (UKRep & IRep) in order to stay as informed at Member State level as is possible. Legal support to Departments from the Brussels Office is available at any stage of the legislative

process, from initial awareness raising right through to legislative drafting but it is significantly more beneficial to departments if I can engage with contacts armed with a Northern Ireland position on their particular remits. As such I actively welcome instructions from Departments on what matters are current priorities for them, in order to best provide legal advice to Departments within the full political context.’

VISITS TO BRUSSELS JANUARY – JUNE 2015

Since January, the office has supported five Ministerial programmes in Brussels. We have also welcomed 1,601 guests to our premises and hosted or supported over 100 meetings and events. In February, Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry held a series of high-level meetings with four Directorates of the European Commission on a wide range of topics including youth employment, innovation and raising the profile of the region in the EU.

Also in February, then Finance Minister Hamilton met with

Commissioner Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) on public sector reform. The Minister returned in

June to give an extremely well-received

speech at the Commission’s ‘Opening Up to an Era of Innovation’ conference. In March the then Junior Ministers Jonathan Bell and Jennifer McCann, in addition to looking at social innovation projects in Brussels, met with Regional Policy Commissioner Creţu to brief her on our European priorities, and to explore the continuation of the structured relationship.

Junior Ministers at the Social Innovation Factory, Brussels Also in March, Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy joined an

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Ambassadorial and Invest NI event promoting our manufacturing excellence, as well as meeting with the European Parliament’s Chair of the Transport Committee. In the reporting period, two Permanent Secretaries, Andrew McCormick from DETI and Leo O’Reilly from DOE, have had a series of engagements including meetings with key Commission officials and Taskforce members, other European regions of interest and attendance at conferences and briefings. During his visit Andrew McCormick was a guest speaker at the Committee of the Regions’ ‘Five Years of the European Entrepreneurial Region Experience’ Conference. In March we again curated the programme and delivered large parts of

the content of the CAL NICS Study Visit, which took place over a week. This programme is a follow on to the CAL ‘ Introduction to Europe’ training course and provides civil servants from all Departments with both an opportunity to meet officials from and learn about the EU and its institutions, but also gives the delegates specific focused meetings in areas of individual interest.

NICS study group visit European Council

LOOK BACK ON BRUSSELS CULTURE PROGRAMME 2014-15 CULTURE NIGHT 2014

Culture Night 2014 took place on 19th September 2014. Grainne Holland and Maeve MacKinnon (vocalists) performed

with Brendan Mulholland, Mickey McCluskey & Brian McAlpine (instrumentalists) supported by ‘Curious Doings’ (improvisational theatre). Additionally Curious Doings gave pop-up performances at other locations, including the European Economic and Social Committee. It was a packed evening showcasing the vibrant and anarchic musical and cultural offerings from home. A TASTE OF HEANEY Paula McIntyre, a Northern Irish chef with an international reputation, gave a

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cookery demonstration in the Office. Paula showcased an array of local Northern Ireland produce including Lough Neagh Eels, hand-churned butter, damson wine and perch, which was well received by our guests. Her theme, ‘Heaney and the Eaten Word’ brought Seamus Heaney’s sense of place to life through her storytelling and use of indigenous ingredients.

JAN CARSON & HANNAH MCPHILIMY

In a creative take on a literary reading, Jan Carson, novelist & Hannah McPhilimy, singer-songwriter presented an event based on Jan’s novel “Malcolm Orange Disappears”. Jan performed readings from the novel, accompanied by original songs by Hannah inspired by the book. Hannah’s haunting voice and (at

times humorous) lyrics brought Jan’s characters off the page and into Brussels. MAN IN THE MOON

This one-man play by the Brassneck Theatre Company, was presented at the BOZAR Theatre in Brussels on 27th March, prior to its week-long run in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. The packed theatre of European diplomats (including a large Czech contingent) seemed to have no bother with the pace of the West Belfast patois and Ciaran Nolan’s highly physical performance was spellbinding – and at times manic! JOHN MONTAGUE & ELIZABETH WASSELL / LAUNCH OF SEACOURT EXHIBITION

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On 29 May 2015, we held a lunchtime literature reading with acclaimed poet John Montague and writer Elizabeth Wassell, which coincided with the launch of Seacourt Print Workshop’s ‘Europe’ Exhibition. Our invited guests hung onto every word as the pair in turn performed extracts from their works and spoke with passion about the creative process.

FORWARD LOOK We look forward continuing our cultural engagement programme in association with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Autumn will kick off with Culture Night on the 18th September to be followed by a series of events linked to the artistic and cultural life of Northern Ireland within the context of Europe. We look forward to a vibrant and exciting programme in the months ahead.

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