You can see from my post I think it’s a very possible end result of Brexit I just don’t think it’s hugely relevant to how we resolve the border issues at this moment .
Current Affairs Irish Border and Brexit
- Thread starter Charlie Sweet
- Start date
- Status
You can see from my post I think it’s a very possible end result of Brexit I just don’t think it’s hugely relevant to how we resolve the border issues at this moment .
Don't get me started.
I honestly don't understand why the NHS doesn't just outline some formal universal standard for knowledge management, and then provide each individual trust funding to build something themselves. We're quite fortunate in Wales that NWIS are actually beginning to get their stuff together, and work with the free software-orientated informatics community to actually solve interoperability issues.
DUP welcomes legal guarantee of no customs border in Irish Sea ...
"Theresa May has agreed to give a legal guarantee that there will be no customs border in the Irish Sea after Brexit. The Prime Minister was accused of “caving in” to the demands of hardline Tory Brexiteers by agreeing a number of concessions to the Customs Bill, including a legal promise of no customs border between NI and rest of UK post-Brexit".
If there are no checks in the Irish Sea then to leave the EU they have to be in the border area for the UK to leave the EU. The Counter Terrorism and Border Security Bill has been designed to have checks on people and goods. It will not just be for 'security and anti terrorism', but will be a back door method for checking goods. When WTO ask about checking goods on the border on the island of Ireland May will point to the Counter Terrorism and Border Security.
The PTA wasn't intended to be used against Iceland, an ally, but it was. For 'national economic security'.
By Ben Harrington
9:08PM GMT 23 Jan 2013
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson told Sky News that his country would "never forget" its treatment during the financial crisis by Mr Brown.
Following the collapse of Icelandic bank Icesave during the financial crisis and Iceland's refusal to refund UK deposits, Britain imposed financial sanctions on the country.
Mr Grimsson told Sky News: "The Gordon Brown government decided, to its eternal shame, to put the Icelandic government on a list of terrorist states and terrorist phenomena. We were there together with al Qaeda and the Taliban on that list.
"We have not forgotten that in Iceland."
Mr Grimson added: "Gordon Brown will be long remembered in my country for centuries to come, long after he has been completely forgotten in Britain."
The likes of Rees Mogg, Johnson and May wont think twice about imposing a border on the island of Ireland for 'economic security' i.e leaving the EU.
An imposed border, vital to the UK leaving the EU, will result in an Irish unification vote sooner than people think. Loyalists are getting more and more worried by the chance of a vote. The shenanigans of the likes of Chuckitin and Kinnock with their 'people's vote' to overturn the first vote, will not have gone unnoticed on the DUP.
It would be a delicious irony if we had reunification of Ireland as a result of enacting one of the most right-wing decision we democratically directed
But to argue the point, why shouldn't we have a people's vote? I hate the fact that the main presenters of it are Owen Smith, Neil Coyle, Guto Bebb and Anna Soubry - but even stopped clocks are right twice a day.
Interesting. Let's see if May and the DUP agree or push forward with a hard border.
Brexit
Brexit: No 10 refuses to consider plans to have EU staff at British ports
Compromise proposal for ports serving Ireland is intended to help solve Brexit border issue
Lisa O'Carroll and Heather Stewart
Tue 11 Sep 2018 07.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 11 Sep 2018 07.01 BST
Liverpool container terminal. Under the proposal, ports would have red and green channels for different types of freight. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Downing Street is refusing to consider proposals to have EU officials stationed at British ports serving Ireland, intended as part of a solution to the problem of the Irish border after Brexit.
The compromise plan, which is under consideration by Ireland and Brussels, is aimed at “de-dramatising” the Irish border issue, and reflects the fact that many goods enter Northern Ireland via Dublin, and not Belfast or the two other main ports in the region.
But No 10 is insistent that the proposals set out in the Chequers plan, with a common rulebook for goods and agrifood, and a “facilitated customs arrangement”, which would involve the UK levying EU tariffs, will ultimately remove the need for border checks altogether.
Irish deputy PM warns on 'reckless shouting' in Brexit war of words
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We believe the solution that we set out in the white paper and at Chequers delivers on the issue of the Northern Ireland border. As the PM has said many times, she is a committed unionist; that’s a key fact in where we’ve ended up.”
Checks at ports could also breach an amendment to the government’s customs bill, currently making its way through the Lords, which would rule out a customs border in the Irish Sea.
Michel Barnier has asked the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, for data on freight movements. Belfast sources say there have been delays in producing the data because ferry companies do not register the final destination of freight and some containers could have multiple destinations.
Seamus Leheny, the head of the Freight Transport Association in Northern Ireland, said many members used the route between Dublin and Holyhead in Wales because it was the shortest crossing. Data from the Central Statistics Office in Ireland shows that 1.1m trucks and unaccompanied containers arrive in Dublin every year but the data does not include how many journeys each lorry makes a year.
While Theresa May opposes EU checks in British ports, recent reports suggest there is a loosening of opposition among Brexiters. The Brexit-supporting European Research Group, chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg, will reportedly support the proposal in a Brexit blueprint due to be published this week, believing it will break “the logjam” and show willingness to Brussels.
One source said: “The ERG don’t care enough about Northern Ireland. But they are now very worried about a ‘no deal’ and time running out. They don’t want Ireland scuppering everything.”
They argue that EU officials checking trucks in British ports is no different in principle to having French police in St Pancras station in London checking passports of Eurostar passengers, or British border force operations in Calais.
The proposal has not been tabled officially in Brussels but Barnier confirmed it was one of the options under consideration.
Brexit secretary under fire from Michel Barnier over Irish border issue
In a transcript of his conversation with the Brexit select committee in Brussels, he told MPs that plant and animal checks could be done “on board vessels, in ports outside Ireland”.
Under the proposal, ports such as Liverpool, Holyhead and Fishguard would have red and green lanes for freight. All trucks carrying food and animal produce would be required to have checks under EU law and, along with any trucks without correct paperwork or deemed to be potential smuggling suspects, would be directed into the red channel to be examined.
Trusted traders with non-agrifood loads assessed not to be a smuggling risk would pass through the green channel unchecked provided customs declarations forms, which can be completely electronically, were submitted in advance.
Animals and agrifood that go from other parts of Britain to Northern Ireland, and to Ireland, are already checked to protect against the spread of diseases such as BSE and TB and implementing this for other goods would just be an extension of the current system, said one source close to negotiations.
Leheny said having checks at British ports would protect the island of Ireland and could even boost Northern Ireland’s exports.
“If poultry and beef coming in from Britain to Northern Ireland passed through the red channel it could be enough to satisfy the EU,” said. “The meat exporters would also be happy because it would mean they could send their products to GB and across the border into Ireland and the EU.
“They would still have both markets. We have always said if we are going to do checks, we should do them when the wheels aren’t turning, when the trucks are in the port or at sea, that way there is no interruption in the flow of traffic.”
Brexit
Brexit: No 10 refuses to consider plans to have EU staff at British ports
Compromise proposal for ports serving Ireland is intended to help solve Brexit border issue
Lisa O'Carroll and Heather Stewart
Tue 11 Sep 2018 07.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 11 Sep 2018 07.01 BST
Liverpool container terminal. Under the proposal, ports would have red and green channels for different types of freight. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Downing Street is refusing to consider proposals to have EU officials stationed at British ports serving Ireland, intended as part of a solution to the problem of the Irish border after Brexit.
The compromise plan, which is under consideration by Ireland and Brussels, is aimed at “de-dramatising” the Irish border issue, and reflects the fact that many goods enter Northern Ireland via Dublin, and not Belfast or the two other main ports in the region.
But No 10 is insistent that the proposals set out in the Chequers plan, with a common rulebook for goods and agrifood, and a “facilitated customs arrangement”, which would involve the UK levying EU tariffs, will ultimately remove the need for border checks altogether.
Irish deputy PM warns on 'reckless shouting' in Brexit war of words
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We believe the solution that we set out in the white paper and at Chequers delivers on the issue of the Northern Ireland border. As the PM has said many times, she is a committed unionist; that’s a key fact in where we’ve ended up.”
Checks at ports could also breach an amendment to the government’s customs bill, currently making its way through the Lords, which would rule out a customs border in the Irish Sea.
Michel Barnier has asked the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, for data on freight movements. Belfast sources say there have been delays in producing the data because ferry companies do not register the final destination of freight and some containers could have multiple destinations.
Seamus Leheny, the head of the Freight Transport Association in Northern Ireland, said many members used the route between Dublin and Holyhead in Wales because it was the shortest crossing. Data from the Central Statistics Office in Ireland shows that 1.1m trucks and unaccompanied containers arrive in Dublin every year but the data does not include how many journeys each lorry makes a year.
While Theresa May opposes EU checks in British ports, recent reports suggest there is a loosening of opposition among Brexiters. The Brexit-supporting European Research Group, chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg, will reportedly support the proposal in a Brexit blueprint due to be published this week, believing it will break “the logjam” and show willingness to Brussels.
One source said: “The ERG don’t care enough about Northern Ireland. But they are now very worried about a ‘no deal’ and time running out. They don’t want Ireland scuppering everything.”
They argue that EU officials checking trucks in British ports is no different in principle to having French police in St Pancras station in London checking passports of Eurostar passengers, or British border force operations in Calais.
The proposal has not been tabled officially in Brussels but Barnier confirmed it was one of the options under consideration.
Brexit secretary under fire from Michel Barnier over Irish border issue
In a transcript of his conversation with the Brexit select committee in Brussels, he told MPs that plant and animal checks could be done “on board vessels, in ports outside Ireland”.
Under the proposal, ports such as Liverpool, Holyhead and Fishguard would have red and green lanes for freight. All trucks carrying food and animal produce would be required to have checks under EU law and, along with any trucks without correct paperwork or deemed to be potential smuggling suspects, would be directed into the red channel to be examined.
Trusted traders with non-agrifood loads assessed not to be a smuggling risk would pass through the green channel unchecked provided customs declarations forms, which can be completely electronically, were submitted in advance.
Animals and agrifood that go from other parts of Britain to Northern Ireland, and to Ireland, are already checked to protect against the spread of diseases such as BSE and TB and implementing this for other goods would just be an extension of the current system, said one source close to negotiations.
Leheny said having checks at British ports would protect the island of Ireland and could even boost Northern Ireland’s exports.
“If poultry and beef coming in from Britain to Northern Ireland passed through the red channel it could be enough to satisfy the EU,” said. “The meat exporters would also be happy because it would mean they could send their products to GB and across the border into Ireland and the EU.
“They would still have both markets. We have always said if we are going to do checks, we should do them when the wheels aren’t turning, when the trucks are in the port or at sea, that way there is no interruption in the flow of traffic.”
Ireland
Irish deputy PM warns on 'reckless shouting' in Brexit war of words
Simon Coveney says ‘hard-won’ peace is only motivation to prioritise border in talks
Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent
@lisaocarroll
Sat 8 Sep 2018 20.32 BSTFirst published on Sat 8 Sep 2018 14.30 BST
Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney spoke of the danger of oversimplifying complex constitutional questions. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has called for a generous and respectful conversation from all parties in the war of words over the Anglo-Irish border, warning that “reckless” shouting and sloganeering has consequences for the people who live in Northern Ireland.
Keeping the “hard-won peace” in the region was the only motivation in prioritising the Irish border in the Brexit negotiations, Simon Coveney told an audience of politicians, Whitehall officials and activists at a conference in Oxford.
Coveney had faced criticism from his political allies in Dublin over his dismissal of Jacob Rees-Mogg as “ill-informed about Ireland and the politics of the Brexit Irish border issue” after comments from the Tory MP saying that it might be an idea to “inspect” people crossing the Irish border after Brexit were revealed.
But he urged all parties to remember that the border was more than just trade – although the free flow of goods was an important by-product of the 1998 peace agreement.
In a keynote speech at the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford, Coveney said the flourishing of cross-border business and human interactions had reinforced peace and that this must be recognised by Brexiters who claim that the Irish border issue is overblown.
“Psychologically, it [peace] has transformed the landscape and allowed identity to breathe more freely. Protecting this precious achievement, a backbone to our hard-won peace, is the only motivation in prioritising Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Irish border question must be solved by UK, not EU, says Sweden
“These are real, not imagined, issues. And these are issues which must be addressed in the coming weeks if a positive outcome to the UK exit negotiations is to be secured,” he said.
“I know – because it has been said to me in the clearest of terms – that many in Northern Ireland find this discussion genuinely unnerving and even threatening,” he added.
In what will be seen as a sideswipe at Brexiters, he called for “generous and respectful conversation, not shouted slogans”.
“The danger of oversimplifying complex constitutional questions and choices without sufficient regard to the consequences is something all of us should be mindful of,” he added.
Advertisement
Earlier the leader of Fianna Fáil told the conference that relations between Dublin and London were the worst they had been in 30 years because of Brexit..
Ireland seeking Brexit side deal with EU to avoid border checks
Read more
Micheál Martin, said the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and his British counterpart, Theresa May, appeared to have no substantive working relationship and went for long periods without contact.
Martin’s party, like the Democratic Unionist party, is in a confidence-and-supply arrangement with Varadkar’s Fine Gael party. He said he was fully aware of the “constructive and chaotic nature” of politics in London but that the two governments still needed to develop and maintain a constructive relationship.
“The drift of recent years and the abrasive public relationship of the last year is very damaging.” He spoke of a seven-week period this year, during a crucial stage of the Brexit negotiations, when there was no contact between Varadkar and May.
Referring to previous Irish and British prime ministers, he said: “It is inconceivable that Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair, or Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown would have gone seven weeks without talking at any time – let alone during a crisis.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007.
Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/EPA
“At the inter-governmental level, relations are worse than at any time in at least the last 30 years. The taoiseach and prime minister appear to have no substantive working relationship and go long periods without talking to each other,” he said.
He took a shot against at Coveney for criticising Rees Mogg’s historic comments, saying that while they referenced the worst aspects of the Troubles, they were made two years ago and Coveney should not have dignified them with a condemnatory tweet.
Martin went on to criticise Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party for deliberately ignoring the duty of Dublin to protect the interests of that country’s nationalist population, who are neither represented in Westminster nor the local assembly because of the collapse of the power-sharing deal.
Sinn Féin has seven seats in Westminster but it does not take them because of its long-standing abstentionism policy.
“The attitude of the DUP to Dublin continues to ignore the will of the people of Northern Ireland concerning north-south relations,” he said.
However he reserved his sharpest words for Varadkar, claiming the taoiseach was misjudging cross-border relations and failing to develop a dialogue with unionists.
“When the taoiseach said last December, ‘It’s not my job to deliver the unionists’, he made a startling statement which none of his predecessors in the past three decades would have made,” he said.
Martin warned that 2018 was a grave moment in relations between the two islands and all leaders were responsible for mitigating the damage of Brexit.
Separately, Sinn Féin’s chairman said at the same event that the uncertainty being caused by Brexit was creating the right environment for a united Ireland.
Sinn Fein’s Declan Kearney said in a united Ireland, the party would act as a guarantor for the British identity and the unionist tradition. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Declan Kearney said that while unionists would find this anathema and the Conservative party,“unthinkable”, it was something to which many people aspired.
He said Sinn Féin, which for decades was associated with the IRA, would “act as a guarantor for the British identity and the unionist tradition”.
The party knew from first-hand experience that unionist and loyalist minorities would have to be supported in a united Ireland. “The 20% which would make up a new Ireland, who would not identify as Irish, must never feel the exclusion from society that was experienced by Irish citizens in the north under unionist rule,” he said.
In remarks that will rankle many union-supporting voters, Kearney said Sinn Féin recognised that “unionism needs to be persuaded that it can own a significant stake” within a united Ireland and republicans should remember they had a “responsibility” to welcome and cherish them".
Irish deputy PM warns on 'reckless shouting' in Brexit war of words
Simon Coveney says ‘hard-won’ peace is only motivation to prioritise border in talks
Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent
@lisaocarroll
Sat 8 Sep 2018 20.32 BSTFirst published on Sat 8 Sep 2018 14.30 BST
Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney spoke of the danger of oversimplifying complex constitutional questions. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has called for a generous and respectful conversation from all parties in the war of words over the Anglo-Irish border, warning that “reckless” shouting and sloganeering has consequences for the people who live in Northern Ireland.
Keeping the “hard-won peace” in the region was the only motivation in prioritising the Irish border in the Brexit negotiations, Simon Coveney told an audience of politicians, Whitehall officials and activists at a conference in Oxford.
Coveney had faced criticism from his political allies in Dublin over his dismissal of Jacob Rees-Mogg as “ill-informed about Ireland and the politics of the Brexit Irish border issue” after comments from the Tory MP saying that it might be an idea to “inspect” people crossing the Irish border after Brexit were revealed.
But he urged all parties to remember that the border was more than just trade – although the free flow of goods was an important by-product of the 1998 peace agreement.
In a keynote speech at the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford, Coveney said the flourishing of cross-border business and human interactions had reinforced peace and that this must be recognised by Brexiters who claim that the Irish border issue is overblown.
“Psychologically, it [peace] has transformed the landscape and allowed identity to breathe more freely. Protecting this precious achievement, a backbone to our hard-won peace, is the only motivation in prioritising Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Irish border question must be solved by UK, not EU, says Sweden
“These are real, not imagined, issues. And these are issues which must be addressed in the coming weeks if a positive outcome to the UK exit negotiations is to be secured,” he said.
“I know – because it has been said to me in the clearest of terms – that many in Northern Ireland find this discussion genuinely unnerving and even threatening,” he added.
In what will be seen as a sideswipe at Brexiters, he called for “generous and respectful conversation, not shouted slogans”.
“The danger of oversimplifying complex constitutional questions and choices without sufficient regard to the consequences is something all of us should be mindful of,” he added.
Advertisement
Earlier the leader of Fianna Fáil told the conference that relations between Dublin and London were the worst they had been in 30 years because of Brexit..
Ireland seeking Brexit side deal with EU to avoid border checks
Read more
Micheál Martin, said the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and his British counterpart, Theresa May, appeared to have no substantive working relationship and went for long periods without contact.
Martin’s party, like the Democratic Unionist party, is in a confidence-and-supply arrangement with Varadkar’s Fine Gael party. He said he was fully aware of the “constructive and chaotic nature” of politics in London but that the two governments still needed to develop and maintain a constructive relationship.
“The drift of recent years and the abrasive public relationship of the last year is very damaging.” He spoke of a seven-week period this year, during a crucial stage of the Brexit negotiations, when there was no contact between Varadkar and May.
Referring to previous Irish and British prime ministers, he said: “It is inconceivable that Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair, or Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown would have gone seven weeks without talking at any time – let alone during a crisis.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007.
Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/EPA
“At the inter-governmental level, relations are worse than at any time in at least the last 30 years. The taoiseach and prime minister appear to have no substantive working relationship and go long periods without talking to each other,” he said.
He took a shot against at Coveney for criticising Rees Mogg’s historic comments, saying that while they referenced the worst aspects of the Troubles, they were made two years ago and Coveney should not have dignified them with a condemnatory tweet.
Martin went on to criticise Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party for deliberately ignoring the duty of Dublin to protect the interests of that country’s nationalist population, who are neither represented in Westminster nor the local assembly because of the collapse of the power-sharing deal.
Sinn Féin has seven seats in Westminster but it does not take them because of its long-standing abstentionism policy.
“The attitude of the DUP to Dublin continues to ignore the will of the people of Northern Ireland concerning north-south relations,” he said.
However he reserved his sharpest words for Varadkar, claiming the taoiseach was misjudging cross-border relations and failing to develop a dialogue with unionists.
“When the taoiseach said last December, ‘It’s not my job to deliver the unionists’, he made a startling statement which none of his predecessors in the past three decades would have made,” he said.
Martin warned that 2018 was a grave moment in relations between the two islands and all leaders were responsible for mitigating the damage of Brexit.
Separately, Sinn Féin’s chairman said at the same event that the uncertainty being caused by Brexit was creating the right environment for a united Ireland.
Sinn Fein’s Declan Kearney said in a united Ireland, the party would act as a guarantor for the British identity and the unionist tradition. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Declan Kearney said that while unionists would find this anathema and the Conservative party,“unthinkable”, it was something to which many people aspired.
He said Sinn Féin, which for decades was associated with the IRA, would “act as a guarantor for the British identity and the unionist tradition”.
The party knew from first-hand experience that unionist and loyalist minorities would have to be supported in a united Ireland. “The 20% which would make up a new Ireland, who would not identify as Irish, must never feel the exclusion from society that was experienced by Irish citizens in the north under unionist rule,” he said.
In remarks that will rankle many union-supporting voters, Kearney said Sinn Féin recognised that “unionism needs to be persuaded that it can own a significant stake” within a united Ireland and republicans should remember they had a “responsibility” to welcome and cherish them".
Carl O'Ancelotti
Player Valuation: £20m
International driving permits may be required to cross the border after Brexit. Roaming charges for mobile phones may be re-introduced. This is according to the British government, but it is apparently just part of Project Fear according to some people..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45512992
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45512992
sbbefc
Player Valuation: £30m
I'm already paying more for my holidays and my weekly shop and this shambles hasn't even kicked off properly yet.
Carl O'Ancelotti
Player Valuation: £20m
Not an inch, unsurprisingly:
'The DUP’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds has said a new EU proposal to operate checks on goods along the Britain-Northern Ireland sea route will still mean an unacceptable border.
Mr Dodds said "Michel Barnier says he can do different kinds of checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK as if that makes it more palatable. The fundamental point is that internal U.K. checks are only needed if it is intended to separate Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
"Despite the talk of 'improvements', the backstop being insisted upon by the EU ... still means a border down the Irish Sea although with different kinds of checks. The fact is that both Theresa May and the Labour Party have said no British prime minister could accept such a concept."
Back to square one it is then.
'The DUP’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds has said a new EU proposal to operate checks on goods along the Britain-Northern Ireland sea route will still mean an unacceptable border.
Mr Dodds said "Michel Barnier says he can do different kinds of checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK as if that makes it more palatable. The fundamental point is that internal U.K. checks are only needed if it is intended to separate Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
"Despite the talk of 'improvements', the backstop being insisted upon by the EU ... still means a border down the Irish Sea although with different kinds of checks. The fact is that both Theresa May and the Labour Party have said no British prime minister could accept such a concept."
Back to square one it is then.
Last edited:
The binman chronicles
Player Valuation: £80m
Rock and a hard place comes to mind. The sooner everyone accepts this the quicker we can move beyond it.
Carl O'Ancelotti
Player Valuation: £20m
It's not looking good:
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has delivered a downbeat assessment of the Brexit negotiations as he arrived for an informal dinner of EU leaders in Salzburg.
Mr Varadkar told reporters: "I don’t think we’re any closer to a withdrawal agreement than we were in March. So I can't report any progress at this stage unfortunately, but we’ll keep working on it."
Dismissing suggestions there had been progress in recent weeks on the Irish backstop, the Taoiseach said the UK still had to present an alternative text to the EU's initial draft, which was rejected by Prime Minister Theresa May in March.
"We’ve yet to see an alternative text from the United Kingdom government that anybody in the European Union finds to be acceptable, that actually satisfies what we need, which is an assurance that there won’t be a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that that backstop would apply unless and until we’re in a position to negotiate a new free trade agreement between the EU and UK."
He added: "The Irish position and the position of the European Union is as it has been from the very start. It’s that we want there to be a Withdrawal Agreement, a Withdrawal Agreement that provides for an orderly exit of the UK from the European Union.
"And we want there to be a transition period so people can adjust to any changes to the rules of trade that are going to take place."
Mr Varadkar said: "But we also have to have a backstop on NI and Ireland, one that assures us that a hard border will not emerge on our island, and that it has to be legally operable, and at this stage unfortunately the UK has not presented an alternative text to the EU text that we find acceptable."
Mr Varadkar insisted an agreement in principle on the backstop needed to be in place by the October European Council.
"I wouldn’t like to see it run into November or December, because that would create a lot of uncertainty for citizens and for business too."
He said the UK would have to move on its position.
If not, he said, "I don’t think anybody wants to contemplate a no deal scenario. I don’t believe a no deal scenario is where we’re heading. But certainly Ireland is prepared for it. We’re already started the process of hiring hundreds of people to staff our ports and airports.
"We’ve also started to approve the IT systems, the infrastructure that may need to be in place. I want to emphasise that’s for ports and airports on east/west trade. We’re not making any preparations for any form of hard border between north and south.
"Ireland would very much suffer in a no deal scenario. We don’t want that to happen. I think the UK would suffer a lot as well. And I think that’s why we need to redouble our efforts to aim to have an agreement in principle in October in the Withdrawal Agreement, on the Irish and Northern Ireland Protocol, and then use the period after that to draft the joint political declaration on the future relationship.
"But I think if any sense has been created that any form of significant progress has been made in the last couple of weeks, unfortunately that is not the case."
At the dinner this evening, Theresa May is expected to explain further her "Chequers" proposal. But she is also expected to firmly rule out the Commission’s latest suggestions on dedramatising the backstop.
Both leaders will hold a bilateral meeting in Salzburg tomorrow morning.
https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2018/0919/994793-salzburg/
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has delivered a downbeat assessment of the Brexit negotiations as he arrived for an informal dinner of EU leaders in Salzburg.
Mr Varadkar told reporters: "I don’t think we’re any closer to a withdrawal agreement than we were in March. So I can't report any progress at this stage unfortunately, but we’ll keep working on it."
Dismissing suggestions there had been progress in recent weeks on the Irish backstop, the Taoiseach said the UK still had to present an alternative text to the EU's initial draft, which was rejected by Prime Minister Theresa May in March.
"We’ve yet to see an alternative text from the United Kingdom government that anybody in the European Union finds to be acceptable, that actually satisfies what we need, which is an assurance that there won’t be a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that that backstop would apply unless and until we’re in a position to negotiate a new free trade agreement between the EU and UK."
He added: "The Irish position and the position of the European Union is as it has been from the very start. It’s that we want there to be a Withdrawal Agreement, a Withdrawal Agreement that provides for an orderly exit of the UK from the European Union.
"And we want there to be a transition period so people can adjust to any changes to the rules of trade that are going to take place."
Mr Varadkar said: "But we also have to have a backstop on NI and Ireland, one that assures us that a hard border will not emerge on our island, and that it has to be legally operable, and at this stage unfortunately the UK has not presented an alternative text to the EU text that we find acceptable."
Mr Varadkar insisted an agreement in principle on the backstop needed to be in place by the October European Council.
"I wouldn’t like to see it run into November or December, because that would create a lot of uncertainty for citizens and for business too."
He said the UK would have to move on its position.
If not, he said, "I don’t think anybody wants to contemplate a no deal scenario. I don’t believe a no deal scenario is where we’re heading. But certainly Ireland is prepared for it. We’re already started the process of hiring hundreds of people to staff our ports and airports.
"We’ve also started to approve the IT systems, the infrastructure that may need to be in place. I want to emphasise that’s for ports and airports on east/west trade. We’re not making any preparations for any form of hard border between north and south.
"Ireland would very much suffer in a no deal scenario. We don’t want that to happen. I think the UK would suffer a lot as well. And I think that’s why we need to redouble our efforts to aim to have an agreement in principle in October in the Withdrawal Agreement, on the Irish and Northern Ireland Protocol, and then use the period after that to draft the joint political declaration on the future relationship.
"But I think if any sense has been created that any form of significant progress has been made in the last couple of weeks, unfortunately that is not the case."
At the dinner this evening, Theresa May is expected to explain further her "Chequers" proposal. But she is also expected to firmly rule out the Commission’s latest suggestions on dedramatising the backstop.
Both leaders will hold a bilateral meeting in Salzburg tomorrow morning.
https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2018/0919/994793-salzburg/
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