There has been 'further progress' on the Windsor Framework, according to the joint statement issued after the Specialised Committee met in Brussels on 7 May 2026. Officials from the European Commission and the UK Government said work since the previous meeting on 3 December 2025 had moved matters on, but they also made clear that some of the hardest practical jobs are still unfinished. For businesses in Northern Ireland, that matters more than the diplomatic wording. The value of the Framework is judged on whether goods can move into Northern Ireland from Great Britain with less friction, less confusion and fewer last-minute compliance headaches.

The co-chairs repeated their commitment to what they called the 'full, timely, and faithful' implementation of the Windsor Framework. They said progress had been made across several areas, while noting that more still has to be done to put in place the safeguards behind the flexibilities for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That may sound technical, but it goes straight to the daily reality facing retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Northern Ireland firms do not need another round of warm words; they need systems that work every time a load leaves a depot and heads across the Irish Sea.

On sanitary and phytosanitary rules, the statement said SPS inspection facilities are functioning satisfactorily and individual labelling requirements are working as intended. Officials also pointed to improvement in the information being provided through general SPS certificates, which will be watched closely by food suppliers and agri-food operators carrying much of the paperwork burden. Even so, Brussels and London accepted that there is still work to do on full compliance for certificates, box-level labelling and making sure flexibilities apply only to goods that meet the rules. They also noted preparatory work on how the Windsor Framework's SPS arrangements will fit with any future EU-UK SPS Agreement, following the Common Understanding reached at the EU-UK Summit on 19 May 2025.

Customs was another area where the committee reported progress, including the completion of work giving Union representatives access to all relevant UK IT systems. Officials said technical discussions are still continuing on customs duties for business-to-consumer parcels, a point that will not be lost on traders and online sellers who know how quickly parcel rules can turn into cost problems. The statement also stressed that more work is needed to make sure the customs and trade parts of the Windsor Framework are being applied properly. In plain terms, the machinery is further on than it was, but it is not finished.

The committee welcomed technical flexibilities in the Duty Reimbursement Scheme, saying these should help Northern Ireland operators while still protecting the EU single market. For firms that have had to pick their way through duty questions, that is one of the less flashy areas where a practical fix can make a real difference. Officials also reviewed the work of the Joint Consultative Working Group and its structured sub-groups, describing the exchange of information as useful and saying the process is functioning well. That steady back-and-forth may be dry on paper, but it is where many of the operational problems are actually worked through.

The joint statement also underlined the importance of continued engagement with Northern Ireland stakeholders. That matters in its own right. If the Framework is to bed in properly, the people moving goods, signing certificates and managing supply chains need to be heard before problems pile up, not after. Alongside that, the co-chairs said they had concluded their exchange of views on the effect of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and Cyber Resilience Act on the working of the Framework. They will now report to the co-chairs of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee ahead of the next Joint Committee meeting. There was no grand breakthrough in Brussels this time, but there was a clear message: progress is being claimed, and the unfinished business is still concentrated in the areas Northern Ireland firms feel most sharply.