UK border stance threatens to stall Brexit talks -EU's Tusk

By Padraic Halpin

 

Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland Leo Varadkar and President of the European Council Donald Tusk speak during a news conference at Government buildings in Dublin, Ireland, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

 

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Brexit negotiations risk stalling if Britain does not present a realistic solution for the future of the Irish border after London rejected an EU fallback proposal last week, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

 

Britain's government has said it does not want a customs union with the EU, without which the EU says it would need to regulate Northern Ireland's trade to avoid a return of customs checks.

 

However British leader Theresa May, backed by her hardline pro-British Northern Irish parliamentary allies, said that no prime minister could ever agree to such terms as they would "threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK".

 

"When I was in London last week, I heard very critical comments by Prime Minister May, and others, about the way the Irish border issue was presented in the draft Withdrawal Agreement," Tusk told a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin.

 

"While we must respect this position, we also expect the UK to propose a specific and realistic solution to avoid a hard border. As long as the UK doesn't present such a solution, it is very difficult to imagine substantive progress in Brexit negotiations.

 

"If in London someone assumes that the negotiations will deal with other issues first, before moving to the Irish issue, my response would be: 'Ireland first'."

 

Northern Ireland will have the UK's only land border with the EU after Brexit, and Varadkar has also urged May to spell out her proposals.

 

He said on Wednesday that Dublin must have certainty that if a better option is not available, Brussels' proposal to establish a "common regulatory area" between the island of Ireland and the 26 other EU states will apply.

 

Addressing comments by British finance minister Philip Hammond on Wednesday arguing for a bespoke deal or an ambitious free trade agreement covering financial services, Tusk said the EU cannot offer the same in services trade as it could in goods.

 

He said unlike with the trade of goods, services are about ensuring common rules, common supervision and common enforcement and that is why free trade agreements do not have detailed rules for financial services.

 

"We should all be clear that also when it comes to financial services, life will be different after Brexit," Tusk said.

 

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by John Stonestreet and Robin Pomeroy)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-09

We need someone to tell them to stuff it, Nigel Farage would so would  Rees Moggs. They need us much more than we need them

 

 

3 hours ago, bartender100 said:

We need someone to tell them to stuff it, Nigel Farage would so would  Rees Moggs. They need us much more than we need them

 

 

Yes get out.The EU will be much better off without the UK.

3 hours ago, bartender100 said:

We need someone to tell them to stuff it, Nigel Farage would so would  Rees Moggs. They need us much more than we need them

Why don't they, I wonder?

And yes, Europe definitely needs you to be included for the periodic soccer competitions...

3 hours ago, bartender100 said:

We need someone to tell them to stuff it, Nigel Farage would so would  Rees Moggs. They need us much more than we need them

So, if it's that simple and that clear, why isn't Britain doing just that? Get out, wave cheerily, and set out pluckily towards the setting sun ...

4 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

3 hours ago, bartender100 said:

We need someone to tell them to stuff it, Nigel Farage would so would  Rees Moggs. They need us much more than we need them

So, if it's that simple and that clear, why isn't Britain doing just that? Get out, wave cheerily, and set out pluckily towards the setting sun ...

Surprising that the EU 27 don't appear to be quaking in their boots at the little Englanders looming departure, could it possibly be that with one of the largest markets in the world - even without the UK - they don't really feel threatened? If the UK were reduced to getting a conman like Farage, and an absurd toff like R-Mogg to represent them, then they really would be in trouble.

29 minutes ago, gamini said:

Yes get out.The EU will be much better off without the UK.

Except of course that is not what the EU says. It's Brexiters who maintain that the UK will be better off without the EU.

It's going to end in tears for the Brexiteers 

if it means losing jobs for having your own borders. 

Then so be it 

 

I keep hearing the EU don't want the UK but they aren't half wanting our money. The EU will miss the large contribution we give plus the trade. Anyone who says different is a fool.

 

I wish we would walk away.  The EU are ensuring that we would never join up again. If those in Brussels believe their tactics will help win the 'hearts of the British people back' then they are deluded.

 

Here in today's Times shows how the EU is behaving. Like a child who has been playing cricket and is bowled out and wants to take their bat and ball away.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/brussels-fines-britain-2-4bn-for-customs-fraud-grsxkxwg7

All's Ireland is saying, is deal with us first. Are they not facts that in the Brexit referendum, the people of the 6 counties of Ulster voted to stay in the EU? Also didn't Wales & Scotland vote to stay in? After winning independence in 1922, Ireland has been waiting 96 years for the remaining 6 counties to be returned to the Republic of Ireland and to put an end to 96 years of partition. 96 years of being a divided country. Walk tall & give those 6 counties back Britain as Britain promised when the treaty was signed between Michael Collins & the British government in 1922, who promised that the 6 counties would follow soon after. SOON AFTER. Do they call 96 years soon after? Britain. Those 6 counties are Ireland's SO JUST GIVE THEM BACK, because "the troubles" as the Irish call them, will never go away until they get what they fought for between 1916 - 1922, being A UNITED 32 COUNTIES REPUBLIC OF IRELAND! Then, when that happens, Britain & the EU can do as they please

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Except of course that is not what the EU says. It's Brexiters who maintain that the UK will be better off without the EU.

without the UK coffers to feed it the EU is a spent force that will self destruct after UK signs out.

 

looks fine to me:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-statement-following-the-jmcgen-wednesday-8-march-2018 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gibraltar-and-uk-government-agree-measures-to-ensure-strong-relationship-continues

Edited March 9, 20188 yr by evadgib

8 hours ago, webfact said:

"While we must respect this position, we also expect the UK to propose a specific and realistic solution to avoid a hard border. As long as the UK doesn't present such a solution, it is very difficult to imagine substantive progress in Brexit negotiations".

 

The UK doesn't have a viable proposal to put forward.  It is surely time that May bit the bullet, stopped dithering and faced the reality.  The EU put up a proposal and it has been rejected. Everyone knew it would be rejected (as they did) but they had to come up with something. Now the UK should put up a counter proposal instead of faffing about and stalling.

 

We are all sick and tired of the embarrassing situation and lack of direction being shown by May and her boys.  Time to put some meat on the bones?  Seems like there aren't even any bones yet!

WTR..WAY TO GO..then watch Poland etc really savage the unelected brussels jobsworths like a wolf-pack[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

7 hours ago, wombat said:

without the UK coffers to feed it the EU is a spent force that will self destruct after UK signs out.

 

Only in some drug induced fantasy, they are sorry to see us go, but do they need us to survive, hardly. We appear to have a absurdly inflated idea of our own importance.

See if you can find one, just one Brexiteer, response above to the UK border stance issue, other than the usual yelling.

15 hours ago, Nigel Garvie said:

Surprising that the EU 27 don't appear to be quaking in their boots at the little Englanders looming departure, could it possibly be that with one of the largest markets in the world - even without the UK - they don't really feel threatened? If the UK were reduced to getting a conman like Farage, and an absurd toff like R-Mogg to represent them, then they really would be in trouble.

 

Why do you feel the need to use the silly phrase "little Englanders"? What does it add to the debate?

10 hours ago, Nigel Garvie said:

Only in some drug induced fantasy, they are sorry to see us go, but do they need us to survive, hardly. We appear to have a absurdly inflated idea of our own importance.

Yes, the Brexiters remind me of my father in NZ during the 1950s & 60s: The Queen was on her throne, London was the centre of the universe, and all was well with the world. Oh, and we won The War (not those awful Americans).

22 hours ago, gamini said:

Yes get out.The EU will be much better off without the UK.

we will see only time will tell, most eu countries have no troops, no intelligence resources, or no money. must screw money from the others.

17 hours ago, dunroaming said:

The EU put up a proposal and it has been rejected. Everyone knew it would be rejected (as they did) but they had to come up with something

that's why they proposed it. The EU have not idea what they want, but they want it their way and their way only, they think they have the bat and we only have a small ball.

8 hours ago, Khun Han said:

 

Why do you feel the need to use the silly phrase "little Englanders"? What does it add to the debate?

Not much added to the debate,  fair point. However the phrase is not "Silly"  per se,  for explanation of it's origin see below. 

"Little Englander" is a term for British nationalists, English nationalists, or English people who are described as xenophobic or overly nationalistic and are accused of being "ignorant" and "boorish". It is sometimes applied to opponents of globalism, multilateralism and internationalism, such as those who are against UK membership with the European Union. Originally it applied to a wing of the Liberal Party opposed to expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century, who wanted "England" to extend no farther than the borders of the United Kingdom. In the late 18th and 19th centuries the term was used for those Englishmen who looked upon the colonies of the British Empire as economically burdensome and wished the granting of self-government as quickly as possible

20 hours ago, evadgib said:

looks fine to me:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-statement-following-the-jmcgen-wednesday-8-march-2018 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gibraltar-and-uk-government-agree-measures-to-ensure-strong-relationship-continues

And your links connect to an unbiased source which would have no stake in putting a positive spin on the situation: namely, the UK government.

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

The EU have not idea what they want, but they want it their way and their way only, they think they have the bat and we only have a small ball.

Are you sure that you meant to write 'EU' in the above sentence because it is many times more applicable to the UK.

14 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

And your links connect to an unbiased source which would have no stake in putting a positive spin on the situation: namely, the UK government.

How often is that done t'other way round?

40 minutes ago, evadgib said:

How often is that done t'other way round?

Rhetorical question = deflection.

On 3/9/2018 at 6:20 AM, webfact said:

Northern Ireland will have the UK's only land border with the EU after Brexit, and Varadkar has also urged May to spell out her proposals.

 

He said on Wednesday that Dublin must have certainty that if a better option is not available, Brussels' proposal to establish a "common regulatory area" between the island of Ireland and the 26 other EU states will apply.