#2 The Backstop problem: Feel free to offer a solution. I'm sure Boris would be happy.
The backstop is an emergency solution, which the EU and Great Britain have agreed on in the Brexit treaty, so that in the future it is guaranteed that this border will remain open. This is the only way for both sides to fulfill the requirements of the peace treaty of 10 April 1998, which stipulates that the border must not impede the coexistence of the Irish through any border controls.
As long as the UK - and thus Northern Ireland - was a member of the EU, the problem did not arise. However, this changes with the UK's withdrawal from the EU Customs Union and the internal market, because at the same time the line between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland suddenly turns into the EU's external border. This means that customs controls, product origin, quality controls and veterinary inspections of livestock must be carried out automatically.
The border problem will be solved once the UK and the EU have agreed on a permanent free trade agreement. But this may take years. Britain and the EU have agreed on a two-year transitional period after the Brexit agreement in March 2019. This transitional period can actually be extended one more time.
But if the negotiations take longer or both sides cannot agree, Brussels will make sure that the backstop comes into play. This emergency solution for the border means that Great Britain will continue to form a customs union with the EU, so that customs controls at the Irish border can be dispensed with. At the same time, Northern Ireland is to remain in the EU's single market for freight traffic, making border controls superfluous with regard to freight traffic and veterinary controls.
At the same time, the sea between Northern Ireland and the "mainland" Britain will become an imaginary border of the EU internal market and quality controls in the ports will become necessary. English livestock brought from England to Northern Ireland, for example, must then be inspected in the ports of Northern Ireland. This agreement is being met with resistance in the British Parliament.
The Northern Ireland DUP party does not accept that Northern Ireland should be treated differently from the rest of the UK in the case of Backstop. For the DUP, the United Kingdom must not be divided, not even by different quality rules. Hence the DUP's categorical no to the backstop in the withdrawal contract.
The British Parliament opposes the fact that the backstop forces the UK into a customs union with the EU. This makes it more difficult to negotiate free trade agreements with third countries. It is also completely unacceptable for many Brexiteers that the UK cannot get out of Backstop alone. The EU must agree to this.
The backstop shows the deep mistrust that exists between both sides. The British fear that the EU will be able to blackmail the UK: Either you accept our proposal of a future free trade agreement - or we won't let you out of the backstop, keep you in a customs union and Northern Ireland in the EU internal market.
The EU, for its part, fears that the British will simply rely on the EU to waive all border controls anyway in order not to endanger the Irish peace. But this would not be allowed under WTO rules. A country violates the principle of equal treatment when it freely imports goods from a neighboring country - Northern Ireland, for example - but controls trade from other countries. That is why the EU is adamant about the backstop.
The backstop is part of the legally binding withdrawal agreement, which the EU no longer wants to change. British demands that the backstop be dropped are therefore unrealistic.
So, what do you propose? |
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