The United Kingdom is tackling another crucial topic of Brexit negotiations. The British government published a position paper on its future partnership with the Republic of Ireland on Aug. 16, particularly focusing on the state of the border between the two countries. Avoiding physical border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland, after all, is a top priority for Britain in Brexit talks.
A 498-kilometer land border exists between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, with around 300 formal crossing points. The United Kingdom wants an "unprecedented model" to keep the Irish border open, and wants to continue the Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland. According to the British government, an Irish Sea custom border would not be viable, and custom checks should be reduced or even absent at Irish Sea ports and crossing points on land.
British Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said Aug. 16 that 80 percent of cross-border activity between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is between small and medium enterprises, and that there is therefore "a strong compelling case" to exempt most trade across that border from EU customs rules. According to the British government's paper, companies would have a "continued waiver" on export and import declarations at the Irish border, and new formalities could be avoided for smaller businesses and reduced for big ones.
The border proposal is based on a broader proposal for a customs agreement with the European Union, published by the British government on Aug. 15. London hopes that a customs agreement between Britain and the European Union would permit keeping its Irish border open. If that were not the case, Britain has committed to use the newest technology to track cross-border movements without physical border posts or immigration checks.
But the European Union has already said that it's too soon to start discussing what the future British-EU relation will look like. According to EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Britain's potential customs agreement concerns future bilateral relations and cannot be addressed before sufficient progress on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union has been achieved.
The European Union will assess the status of the negotiations in October to decide whether enough progress has been made to justify the start of such negotiations. The European Union has also expressed concern about Britain's alleged lack of preparation for the talks. The position papers published this week seem aimed at addressing those concerns and clarifying the British position on key issues.
Meanwhile, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar welcomed the British paper. Ireland's priority is to avoid a hard border with Northern Ireland and to find tailor-made solutions to the post-Brexit period. Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also stressed that the border should remain "as open as possible." However, skepticism has been expressed as to how the British proposal would work in practice. Exempting small businesses from customs regulations could lead to a chaotic situation, or even to smuggling across the border.
Also noteworthy is that the EU chief Brexit negotiator has previously said the Irish border would become the new EU external border after Brexit, and the common external tariff would have to be applied there. To keep the border open, the United Kingdom would have to align its food safety and welfare standards to the European Union's single market. This would undermine Britain's objective to take back control from the European Union, and have an impact on its future negotiation of free trade agreements with other countries. The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be intimately linked to the future of British-EU relations.
