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Key Brexit report on Northern Ireland 'should be published'

European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly
European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly

THE European Commission should publish a document which shows what areas of north-south co-operation are at risk due to Brexit, the EU Ombudsman has said.

Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, who was appointed to the role in 2013, said the confidential document, which had been kept secret due to sensitive negotiations around the Irish border backstop, should be made public.

The paper was used by the Irish government to highlight how Brexit could pose a risk to the Good Friday Agreement.

The mapping exercise was carried out by the British government last year at the request of the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

Officials found around 150 areas of north-south co-operation were underpinned by EU law.

The European Commission and the British government, which had ownership of the document, refused to publish it.

After a case was taken to the ombudsman, Ms O'Reilly found the document should be published because Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU have now ended.

In her report, she told the complainant that the document covered "a wide array of cross-border topics such as trade, animal health, tourism, the environment, cross-border fraud prevention, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and farming."

She told RTÉ there was a "strong public interest case" for the paper to be released.

"While the commission - as requested by the UK - declined to release the table in order not to disturb the negotiations, there is now no obvious reason for the table not to be published," she said.