Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth
The paragraphs you have cited are reproduced below.
North/South Cooperation
127. Strand two of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement established the North/South Ministerial Council which brings together ministers from both governments “to develop consultation, co-operation and action” on an all-island and cross-border basis. The Council agreed six areas of cooperation under the Agreement; agriculture, education, environment, health, tourism and transport. It is also responsible for six all-island implementation bodies which manage inland waterways, sea loughs and lighthouses, language, trade, food safety and the distribution of EU funds.
128.The Government acknowledged that other fora of collaboration have since developed, such as the Single Electricity Market, policing exchanges and the all-island hosting of sporting events. We heard that cross-border cooperation has been important for building trust and improving infrastructure in the border regions. In these areas, cross-border connections have become a means of overcoming the dual challenges of underdevelopment and geographical peripherality from Dublin and Belfast. The Northern Ireland Local Government Association told us that border councils rely on the free-flowing movement of “goods, workers, shoppers and visitors” from an economic hinterland which extends into Ireland. Paragraphs 128 to 133 set out two case studies on cross-border cooperation.
In §128 the bit that I have italicized is presumably what you rely upon in asserting that the border must stay open in terms of the GFA.
No doubt, Varadkar is interpreting this as a means of protecting Ireland's economic interests.
Remainers here have claimed in the name of the GFA that peace on that island depends on open borders.
This section of the GFA is all about collaboration and cooperation, not terrorism.
If it is important to cooperate and collaborate between the two parts of the island, it is not for the EU to dictate to us on how that should be done.
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Of course Varadkar wants to protect Irelands economic interests, that is his job. I was in Ireland last week and the potential economic impact of Brexit is all over the news there.
The North/South cooperation part of the GFA along with the rest is a tool to give a framework for peace. There's actually very little about the end of hostilities in the agreement. There's a section on reconciliation and a section about the decommissioning but that's about it. It's more about;
- Ending the London rule of the North (Strand 1)
- Creating a framework for North/South cooperation (Strand 2)
- Expanding British/Irish cooperation (Strand 3)
Plus sections on the rights and security of the people of the North.
Ireland is an EU member as well as a sovereign nation. It is only right surely that the EU negotiations should reflect Irelands interests as a member
Full text of the agreement BTW -
https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peac...0Agreement.pdf