Bureau des ÃŽles Anglo-Normandes

Guernsey and Jersey have attended a virtual annual political summit with the departmental council of Ille-et-Vilaine to review ways in which the three jurisdictions have been working together, under a cooperation agreement that was signed in 2017 and renewed in 2020 for a further three years.

Jersey has enjoyed sixteen years of joint working with one of its closest neighbours, Ille et Vilaine. Guernsey officially joined the partnership in 2017. The cooperation agreement facilitates joint working in a number of areas, including education and youth mobility, culture and arts, as well as transport, and trade.  It also enables discussions to take place on strategic issues such as the impact on the Channel Islands and the port of St Malo of the UK’s departure from the EU.  In addition to the topics covered by the cooperation agreement, the Prefecture of Brittany attended the annual summit as an observer.

At the virtual summit, the departmental council of Ille et Vilaine was represented by its President, Jean Luc Chenut; Jersey was represented by the Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré and Minister for External Relations, Senator Ian Gorst; and Guernsey was represented by Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, member of the Policy and Resources Committee with responsibility for external relations. The Prefecture of Brittany was represented by the Préfet of Brittany, Emmanuel Berthier.

The discussions covered the health crisis and the management of each territory; developments in the cooperation which have resulted in several progress in the field of sport and international solidarity; and the recent consequences of Brexit for partners.

Each partner expressed the wish for an improvement in the health situation in order to continue these fruitful exchanges through a future physical meeting.