British–Irish Council

British–Irish Council

Comhairle na Breataine–na hÉireann
Logo of the British–Irish Council
Heads of government meet in Edinburgh (Scotland) for the 42nd council summit
Abbreviation	BIC
Formation	2 December 1999; 25 years ago (1999-12-02)
Type	Intergovernmental organisation
Headquarters	Edinburgh, Scotland (secretariat)
Coordinates	55°56′45″N 3°13′21″W / 55.94584°N 3.22262°W / 55.94584; -3.22262
Region served	British Isles
Membership	Ireland (signatory) United Kingdom (signatory) Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
Website	Official website

The British–Irish Council (BIC; Irish: Comhairle na Breataine–na hÉireann) is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment and energy.^[1] Its membership comprises Ireland, the United Kingdom, the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in addition to the governments of the British Crown Dependencies: Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. As England does not have a devolved administration, it is not individually represented on the council but only as a member of the United Kingdom.^[2]

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, Scotland; it meets in semi-annual summits and more frequent ministerial meetings.^[3]

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 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, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Multi-Party agreement between both the UK and Irish governments formally came into effect on 2 December 1999.^[4]

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 in London.^[5]

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 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.^[5]

In 2023, the summits held in Jersey and the Republic of Ireland marked twenty-five years since the Good Friday Agreement,^[5] whilst the 42nd summit hosted by Scotland in December 2024 marked twenty-five years since the inaugural meeting of the council.^[6]

The nine heads of government meet at summits 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 technically holds observer status on the Council due to its language, it is also represented by the UK government.^[7][8]

The work of the council is financed by members through mutual agreement as required.^[9] 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.

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 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:

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 become a work area of the council. Past work sector areas included knowledge economy, e-health / telemedicine and tourism.

Member name	Symbols		Parliament	Membership	Membership status	Represented since
	Arms	Flag
United Kingdom			Parliament of the United Kingdom	full	sovereign state	1999
Ireland			Oireachtas
Scotland			Scottish Parliament		devolved government
Wales			Senedd
Northern Ireland	-	-	Northern Ireland Assembly
Jersey			States Assembly		crown dependency
Isle of Man			Tynwald
Guernsey			States of Guernsey

Advisor name	Symbols		Body	Advisor	Advisor status	Represented since
	Arms	Flag
Cornwall			Cornwall Council	Advisor on Cornish language	English unitary authority	2023[11]

Membership of the Council consists of the following administrations (with current heads of administrations as of December 2024):

Member	Representative(s)			Title
United Kingdom			Keir Starmer MP	Prime Minister
Ireland			Simon Harris TD	Taoiseach
Scotland			John Swinney MSP	First Minister
Wales			Eluned Morgan MS	First Minister
Northern Ireland[a]			Michelle O'Neill MLA[12]	First Minister
			Emma Little-Pengelly MLA	deputy First Minister
Jersey			Deputy Lyndon Farnham	Chief Minister
Isle of Man			Alfred Cannan MHK	Chief Minister
Guernsey			Deputy Lyndon Trott	P&RC President

Initial suggestions for the council included the names Council of the British Isles^[13] or Council of the Isles,^[14] 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:

• 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

• Official website