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🇮🇪 Brexit - Progress on the Irish EU UK Border 🇮🇪

861 views · Published 16 August 2017 · 5:55 · Indexed 6 November 2026

Channel: Jeff Taylor · 2017 · News & Politics

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The UK government’s position paper issued today on proposals for the EU-UK border in Ireland, has been met with cautious optimism.

After all the talk and speculation, the UK has now issued its proposals for what the EU-UK border in Ireland could look like.

It is also encouraging that the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the EU are all agreed that this is an extremely important issue that must be resolved in order to prevent a hard border developing across the island of Ireland, which could spark a return to the bad old days of the Troubles. One helpful aspect is that the Republic of Ireland is not a member of the Schengen agreement.

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The three priorities for the EU are settling the so-called Brexit Bill, keeping the ECJ as the final court for EU citizens in the UK and settling the Irish border question.

These UK proposals go a long way to resolving one of those issues.

The Irish government has welcomed the proposals as “…..a positive step towards really starting phase one of the negotiations. The clock is ticking and these will allow us to make progress.”

The idea from the UK is to use technology to create a virtual border to negate the need for a hard, physical barrier that would cause problems and unrest.

Within the proposals the UK will be asking for small traders and farmers to be exempt from many customs, agriculture and food checks, but the EU could view this as a potential back-door to goods from non-compliant third party countries that get their goods into the UK, which could then go across the border into the Republic of Ireland and potentially the wider EU.

On the UK side there are fears that the border could become a soft route into the UK for economic migrants.

Resolving this will take trust on all sides.

There is, however, one point over which the Remainers will try to make capital. Those born in Northern Ireland have the right to choose to be British citizens, Irish citizens or both. Those who opt to be Irish or take dual nationality will automatically also be citizens of the EU. But, this will not confer any extra rights while they are within the UK, they will still be subject to the supreme court as final arbiter. Also, this is in the in the gift of the Republic of Ireland and the EU and if they choose to maintain this arrangement then that is not something the UK should interfere with.

Earlier today, the interim UKIP leader, Steve Crowther, welcomed the UK government’s proposals, but said that we should now be discussing trade or walking away:

“Now the Irish border issue has been solved, there can be no excuse for their further prevarication. If they do not now start discussing trade ­– and drop both their ransom demand and the ludicrous idea of retaining ECJ jurisdiction in the UK – the UK Government must refuse to return to the negotiating table.”

Later today however, the Former president of the European parliament, Martin Schulz, told the UK government that its proposals for Brexit are “complicating the negotiations” and are “not meaningful”.

Which prompted Steve Crowther to go on to say:

“Yesterday Michel Barnier and Guy Verhofstadt said they wanted to resolve three issues before continuing negotiations; today the UK Government tabled proposals to solve one of them. And their long-time comrade-in-nonsense Martin Schulz complained that they didn’t want any more proposals.

“These negotiations are descending into farce. The UK Government should step away and wait until the EU heavies are ready to talk sensibly.”

The UK has already offered its ‘fair and serious offer’ to allow EU citizens who are resident in the UK a route to staying after Brexit and now it has offered a mechanism for resolving the EU-UK border in Ireland, which the government of the Republic of Ireland is happy to discuss.

That’s two of the three sticking points, so why do the EU negotiators still refuse to talk turkey over trade? Or maybe they don’t want to. Maybe they are determined to make the UK pay billions, keep freedom of movement of people into the UK and use Ireland as a lever. Maybe it’s the EU that wants to have its cake and eat it.

What are your views, please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/16/uk-to-seek-irish-border-waivers-on-customs-and-food-safety-after-brexit

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-northern-irish-citizens-eu-rights-benefit-government-proposal-european-union-uk-leave-a7896156.html

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-publishes-proposals-on-rights-of-eu-citizens

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/about-northern-ireland#toc-2

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