Will Ireland trip up Brexit?

[RonanTheBarbarian]

To expand a bit on the above, the big problem for Ireland is not so much the Tory government or the EU negotiators as much as it is the DUP.

The DUP’s red line is no internal UK customs regime (even if it’s a win-win)

If the Tories were not in coalition with the DUP I think they would be quite open to having the customs border in the Irish Sea, but that’s a bit unlikely with May dependent on the DUP in Westminster, unless she is willing to risk her government collapsing as the DUP bolt.

That’s part of the reason the Irish government is being so intransient at the moment in my view, as they know they have to counter the influence of the DUP on the British government.

[joe552]

Ronan, I find little to disagree with in your posts. The DUP will be the big stumbling blocks (ever notice how close that is to bollox?). Nearly a year on from the election, and no government at Stormont. Both the DUP and Sinn Fein are just playing silly buggers.

[scottish-guy]

It's difficult to comment on NI politics when "politics" in that province seems to be simply a euphemism for "sectarianism"

[FarangRuMak]

The EU won’t agree to a customs border in the Irish Sea either.
The south of Ireland is the EU now.
The North is Britain.
Britain has left the E Union.
French farmers have already warned that they will oppose any soft border in Ireland for agri-products coming from ‘Britain’.

[Yraen]

I know it won't ever happen (it's too logical), but .....

Why not just class Northern Ireland as part of the ROI for purposes of Brexit, then place a border on English soil adjacent to the Irish sea.

The UK could then extend special privileges to 'Ireland' to maintain traditional ties. Yet specifically excluding EU trade etc 'transitting' through Ireland.

No-one should get excited about French farmers - over the decades, they have shown clearly that psychiatric help should be provided to them by the EU.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Something like that is exactly the only way that it could be dealt with.

And there is an historical example we could follow.

Back in the pre-1989 days, there was a special EEC deal where West Germany was allowed to treat import from East Germany as internal, (without tariffs), but those same good would be treated as being imports from outside the EEC if the product went to Belgium or France, say.

What this meant in practice(as far a I understand it), was that if you bought a Dresden-made pair of binoculars in a shop in Aachen, it would not be taxed as an import from outside the EEC, but of you bought it fifty miles down the road in French Strasbourg, it would be taxed as coming from outside the EEC.

There are plenty of such ideas around, but many of them would not pass muster with the DUP, and so the British government are afraid to discuss these precedents, and are left spouting nonsense about an invisible border enabled by some sort of space age hi-tech.

[Nirish guy]

Why not just class Northern Ireland as part of the ROI for purposes of Brexit, then place a border on English soil adjacent to the Irish sea.

Unionists of course in Northern Ireland and elsewhere may take quite a dim view of that idea from a constitutional stand point of course.

[cdnmatt]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the heads of the EU already said their going to be harsh on the Brexit, and basically make an example out of the UK to help dissuade other EU countries from trying the same stunt?

[Nirish guy]

By stunt of course you mean the democratic choice of a Sovereign nation .......

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the heads of the EU already said their going to be harsh on the Brexit, and basically make an example out of the UK to help dissuade other EU countries from trying the same stunt?

Well, they haven't said that officially, but I think they feel they must make sure the UK doesnt seem get a better deal from being out then in.

Ohterwise there could be other countries looking for something similar, why be members of the club when you can get all the benefits for free?

Sometimes I think some of the British press are almost wilfully blind to this fact, they tend to talk as if the obduracy of Barnier and co is all spite and bile rather than a rational actors making rational decisions.