A DUP MP says Irish Border Problem is a ‘Red Herring’
The big sticking point in the Brexit negotiations has been described as a “red herring” by one of the 10 Democratic Unionist MPs propping up Theresa May’s minority government.
Sammy Wilson told the BBC World Service there was no “real problem”.
Mr Wilson, the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) MP for East Antrim and the party’s Brexit spokesman, said: “This is a red herring that’s been thrown in to either string out the negotiations until there’s a change in government in the UK, or to make the price of leaving the EU the break-up of the UK, or to keep the UK in the customs union and the single market”.
The MP pointed to comments from the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister), Leo Varadkar, who said he had been given assurances about the border by the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
In July Mr Varadkar said: “President Juncker and my EU colleagues have on many occasions said that they wouldn’t require us to put in place a physical infrastructure and customs checks on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.”
President Juncker’s office refused to say whether he had made such an assurance, saying simply it would not comment on the ongoing negotiations.
Sammy Wilson added: “There’s no real problem, as the EU have now confirmed. If they say in the event of no deal, we’ll not be putting up any border, then what’s the issue?”
What Problem?
It’s difficult to know what lies or lines a drunken Jean-Claude Juncker may have said. But given that he will now not comment on things, an unusual state of affairs for sure, it’s reasonable to assume he told some whoppers from the EU point of view.
Yet, ironically, that’s a possible key to solving the mess.
What will the EU do if Ireland refuses to put a hard border in place?
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
There are two sides to every border. Even if the UK pretends the border is not there, the EU and the Irish Republic might do things differently on their side. Certainly, a DUP politician has no authority to speak for either the EU or the Irish Republic.
But assuming the UK ignores the border — people and goods would cross freely from EU-land into Northern Ireland and then into the UK, but people and goods going the other way would be subject to EU restrictions and tariffs. This sounds rather similar to the unilateral zero tariffs that Mish has been recommending for another country.
In the particular case of Northern Ireland, unilateral zero tariffs might make sense … for Ireland and the Northern Irish. Obviously, lots of imports from the EU that currently get shipped directly to English ports would instead be shipped to the Irish Republic and then trucked across the border tariff-free into the UK for onward shipment to England. England’s loss in jobs & revenue at ports and shipping infrastructure would be Ireland’s gain.
& EU would need to pay for all checks on anything going the other way, in effect pay for the border.
There should be self-declared customs process where companies report what they are bringing in and pay customs.
Border can be open, just put some spot checks from time to time to check self-reported customs compliance.
Individuals can have a customs free allowance of 500 pounds so no need to check them.
There will be some customs avoidance but it will cost much less than May proposal of chaining UK to EU.
The ‘problem’ isn’t goods, it’s people . . . the UK wants to control it’s own immigration (and that’s it’s right no question about that) BUT to do that it NEEDS a hard border between Ireland and the UK . . . which N-Ireland and the Irish Republic do NOT want . . . . so in addition to a EU-UK problem there’s and internal UK problem. The Irish Republic may not be in the Schengen compact BUT it HAS free movement if EU citizens . . . including those eastern europeans some of the people in the UK want to keep out . . .
As I have written many times: The Ireland-Northern Ireland border is a NON-ISSUE since Ireland is also out of Schengen free movement of people treaty like UK so the border can be left open since Ireland does NOT want to close it and UK does NOT want to close it and there will be no hordes of migrants coming through it.
The fact that Prime Minister May has used time negotiating this issue and has tried to “solve” the issue by chaining UK to EU permanently shows that May is INCOMPETENT and her advisors including former-communist Olly Robbins are also INCOMPETENT.
From the EU’s side, it’s more about goods manufactured, or, more formally, about value added, in a lower tax UK, crossing into Ireland, hence the Single Market, unchecked.
“…… shows that May is INCOMPETENT and her advisors including former-communist Olly Robbins are also INCOMPETENT.”
No it doesn’t. It shows that May never, ever had any intention of leaving the EU in any meaningful way. Simply looking back at what she has actually done, ignoring what she has said, will tell you that.
Even if there is a nominally strict border, enforcement is another matter altogether. It’s not as if ulstermen, along with sympathizers to their south, have proven all that opposed to a bit of lawlessness, in the face of being told what to do by pompous clowns in faraway towns……
EU want border/checks?
Let them pay for it, man it etc.
If you or I want something wouldn’t we expect to pay for it?
Why are they so different?