-UK: The joint 'Specialised Committee on.........>

EU: -UK: The joint 'Specialised Committee on issues related to the

implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland' is meeting for the

first time via videolink presently.

- The work of the committee, involving gov't officials from the EU and UK, is

intended to monitor adherence to the Good Friday Agreement and the application

of the protocol, agreed by both sides as part of the Withdrawal Agreement, that

sees Northern Ireland treated separately from the rest of the UK.

- Main issue at present, which has sparked some political rancour in Belfast and

London, is whether the European Commission should have an office in Belfast

after the end of the transition period in Dec 2020 to accommodate customs and

veterinary officials.

- UK gov't and unionist parties in NI opposed, but RoI, EU, and nationalist and

cross-community NI parties in favour.

- While obscure and wrapped in layers of complexity, the committee is likely to

prove an important forum for dealing with the inevitable political and economic

issues thrown up in NI as the UK comes out of the transition period.