British–Irish Council
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The British–Irish Council (BIC; ) is an
intergovernmental organisation An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment and energy. Its membership comprises
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the devolved governments of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, in addition to the governments of the British
Crown Dependencies The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...
:
Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
,
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
and the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
. As
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
does not have a devolved administration, it is not individually represented on the council but only as a member of the United Kingdom. The British and Irish governments, and political parties in Northern Ireland, agreed to form a council under the British–Irish Agreement, part of the Good Friday Agreement reached in 1998. The council was formally established on 2 December 1999, when the Agreement came into effect. The council's stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands". The BIC has a standing secretariat, located in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland; it meets in semi-annual summits and more frequent ministerial meetings.


Background

The British–Irish Council was established on 10 April 1998 following two years worth of negotiations between the UK and Irish Governments alongside the political parties in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
on the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, a political organisation was to be established in order to foster and provide opportunities to greater integral working between both the UK and Irish governments, and later the devolved governments of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and Northern Ireland. The Multi-Party agreement between both the UK and Irish governments formally came into effect on 2 December 1999. Since its formation, the heads of governments of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have met biannually during the Heads of Administrations summit. The first meeting of the British–Irish council took place on 17 December 1999. The first meeting was hosted by the United Kingdom and Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. In 2006, the St. Andrews Agreement was signed in order to establish a standing permanent Secretariat to the British–Irish Council. The establishment of the position was designed to "further the British-Irish Council work". The Permanent Secretariat was established six years later, located in the capital city of Scotland,
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
following an agreement between council members at the summit in 2010 hosted by Guernsey that the Scottish Government would be the Permanent Secretariat host. The Secretariat was formally established in January 2012. In 2023, the summits held in Jersey and the Republic of Ireland marked twenty-five years since the Good Friday Agreement, whilst the 42nd summit hosted by Scotland in December 2024 marked twenty-five years since the inaugural meeting of the council.


Overview and structure

The nine heads of government meet at
summits A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
twice per year. Additionally, there are regular meetings that deal with specific sectors which are attended by the corresponding ministers. Representatives of members operate in accordance with whatever procedures for democratic authority and accountability are in force in their respective elected legislatures. England, unlike the other countries of the United Kingdom, is not represented separately, as it does not have its own devolved administration. It is thus solely represented on the council as part of the United Kingdom. Although
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
technically holds observer status on the Council due to its language, it is also represented by the UK government. The work of the council is financed by members through mutual agreement as required. At the ninth meeting of the Council in July 2007 it was decided that with devolved government returned to Northern Ireland that an opportune time existed "to undertake a strategic review of the Council's work programmes, working methods and support arrangements." This decision included the potential for a permanent standing secretariat, which was established in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 4 January 2012. At its June 2010 summit, the Council decided to move forward on recommendations to enhance the relationship between it and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly is made up of members from the parliaments and assemblies of the same states and regions as the members of the British–Irish Council. The Council tasked its secretariat with moving this work forward in conjunction with the BIPA's secretariat.


Work areas

The Council agrees to specific work areas for which individual members take responsibility. The Belfast Agreement suggested transport links, agriculture, environmental issues, culture, health, education and approaches to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
as suitable topics for early discussion. However, these work areas can be expanded or reduced as the Council decides. It is also open to the council to make agreement on common policies. These agreements are made through consensus, although individual members may opt not to participate in implementing any of these. The current list of work areas and the member responsible are: * Collaborative spatial planning (Northern Ireland) * Demography (Scotland) * Digital inclusion (Isle of Man) * Early years policy (Wales) * Energy (United Kingdom – Electricity Grids, and Scotland – Marine) * Environment (United Kingdom) * Housing (Northern Ireland) * Indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages (Wales) * Misuse of Substances (drugs and alcohol) (Ireland) * Social inclusion (Scotland and Wales) * Transport (Northern Ireland) * Creative Industries (Jersey) Demography was adopted as a work area at the 2006 meeting of the council. It was proposed by the Scottish Executive, who also took responsibility for it. During the 2007 meeting of the council the Scottish Government further proposed that
energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
become a work area of the council. Past work sector areas included knowledge economy, e-health / telemedicine and tourism.


Membership and operation


Members and advisors


Current leaders

Membership of the Council consists of the following administrations (with current heads of administrations as of ):


Name of the Council

Initial suggestions for the council included the names ''Council of the British Isles'' or ''Council of the Isles'', and the council has sometimes been known by the latter name. However, owing to sensitivities around the term ''British Isles'', particularly in Ireland, the name ''British–Irish Council'' was agreed. The official name of the council is represented in minority and lesser-used languages of the council as: * *
Guernésiais Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...
: * *
Jèrriais ( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...
: * * * * Ulster-Scots: *


Summits


See also

* Council of Ireland * North/South Ministerial Council * British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference * British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly * Interparliamentary Forum * Council of Nations and Regions * East–West Council


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:British-Irish Council 1999 establishments in Ireland 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom 1999 in international relations Political organizations established in 1999 Foreign relations of Guernsey Foreign relations of Jersey Foreign relations of the Isle of Man Government of Northern Ireland Government of Scotland Government of Wales International organizations based in Europe Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations Ireland–United Kingdom relations Northern Ireland peace process Organisations based in Edinburgh Politics of Europe Politics of the British Isles Politics of the Republic of Ireland United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations