Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart
The problem, as I understand it, is threefold.. - The EU have to protect the border of the single market. Poltics aside, if they don't insist on alignment of customs regulations, they run the risk of the border between Northern and Southern Ireland becoming a weakpoint in the border of the Single Market. They cannot afford to allow this. The Brexiteers in charge of the government have, as I understand it, refused to offer regulatory alignment.
- To enforce the security would require customs checks. The systems required to do this without a hard border don't currently exist, and are unlikely to do so for several years.
- The Irish do not want a hard border, as to have one would not only potentially spark off trouble in Northern Ireland, but violate the Good Friday Agreement.
And before you say other countries are not EU members, but don't require hard borders, you'd likely be right (although Switzerland isn't apparently one of them as it does have checkpoints). They also have regulatory alignment, which we have refused. |
The UK rules currently match the EUs and are not likely to diverge greatly in the near or even far future. Currently the UK has to check goods from outside the EU, so what is the problem? The product restrictions are on what is marketed and sold within the EU, not transported or even if made in the EU. Businesses in the EU, can and DO manufacture goods that don't meet EU rules
Why should it spark off trouble? Have the IRA truly gone away or are they and there huge number of supporters still issuing terrorist threats? As they ARE constantly issuing terrorist threats, ie X has to be done for the peace process, then the Good Friday Agreement isn't valid as it had to be with "consent freely given" and not under threats of continued violence.