UK to formulate Irish border proposals 'in a few days': Hunt

[webfact]

UK to formulate Irish border proposals 'in a few days': Hunt

 

Britain's Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt speaks about "Britain's Role in a Post-Brexit World" at the Fullerton Lecture in Singapore January 2, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will take a few days to formulate proposals to put to the European Union in an attempt to resolve the issue of Irish border arrangements after Brexit, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt told BBC radio on Thursday.

 

British lawmakers on Tuesday instructed Prime Minister Theresa May to reopen her Brexit treaty with the EU to replace a controversial Irish border arrangement - the backstop - but promptly received a rejection from Brussels.

 

"We will put those proposals together. It is going to take a few days to do that," Hunt said.

 

"I happen to believe there is potential along all the different routes that have been discussed. But we need to put those together, make sure they meet the concerns the EU has expressed and then I think ... we will have a proper discussion," he said.

 

Hunt said it was too early to say if an extension to the Brexit process would be required. Britain is due to leave on March 29.

 

"I think it is true that if we ended up approving a deal in the days before March 29 then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation," said Hunt.

 

"But if we are able to make progress sooner then that might not be necessary."

 

The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, told lawmakers on Thursday that parliament's planned February recess would be cancelled so it could make progress on "key business". The government has also said it is looking at extending the hours during which parliament sits.

 

Asked about Hunt's comments, May's spokesman said: "The prime minister's position on this is unchanged: we will be leaving on March 29.

 

"We are determined to have everything in place in order for us to leave on March 29," he added. "The fact that recess won’t be taking place and Members of Parliament will be sitting shows you that we are taking all available steps to make sure that March 29 is our exit date."

 

(Reporting by James Davey and Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-01

[steve187]

the idiots have had nearly 3 years to sort this out, and now they want or thinking they need an extension, plans should have been in place before they submitted article 50. all these failed negotiations and fake news stories about the risks of leaving , is a ploy by the remoaners and the EU, to sow discontent among the people to stop us leaving

[Chomper Higgot]

The difficulties and dangers of meddling with the existing happy arrangements across the Irish border where right at the top of the list entitled ‘Project Fear’.

 

But no, Brexit would be easy, the UK holds all the cards.

 

Still, we must have faith that this failing Tory Government can sort it all out in just a few more days.

 

Bless.

[LucysDad]

12 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

 

Still, we must have faith that this failing Tory Government can sort it all out in just a few more days.

 

 

 

Yes, that is probably what will happen.

[Laughing Gravy]

Someone tell me why the Irish government didn't put a border up when the IRA were killing Protestants (and Others) for years during the 1970s-1990s. Funny how it was important then but it is now!

[FritsSikkink]

"and Members of Parliament will be sitting"

Might try to stay awake too. 

[Loiner]

The difficulties and dangers of meddling with the existing happy arrangements across the Irish border where right at the top of the list entitled ‘Project Fear’.

No, it was hardly mentioned during Project Fear 1.0 and not a big problem.
The EU raised the red herring stakes long after the vote. They escalated it further in Mays backstop subjugation and failed agreement.

Still a massive obfuscation, but one that the EU will ‘force’ us out with No Deal.


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[samran]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Someone tell me why the Irish government didn't put a border up when the IRA were killing Protestants (and Others) for years during the 1970s-1990s. Funny how it was important then but it is now!

Why should the Irish government have to put up a border to deal with a problem that wasn’t theirs? 

 

 

[welovesundaysatspace]

8 minutes ago, Loiner said:

Still a massive obfuscation, but one that the EU will ‘force’ us out with No Deal.

 

Im afraid that’s a decision the UK has to make alone itself, and the EU doesn’t have a say in it at all, even if you’re running away from making a call until last minute. Blaming someone else for your lack of leadership is pretty pathetic. You wanted to take control but now you can’t handle it; you wanted to be “sovereign” but now you can’t stand on your own feet. 

[welovesundaysatspace]

7 minutes ago, samran said:

Why should the Irish government have to put up a border to deal with a problem that wasn’t theirs? 

For the same reason there is a border between Norway and Sweden or the US and Canada. 

[Laughing Gravy]

9 minutes ago, samran said:

Why should the Irish government have to put up a border to deal with a problem that wasn’t theirs? 

 

 

The IRA wasn't their problem? Obviously you do not know your Irish history.

[Loiner]

Im afraid that’s a decision the UK has to make alone itself, and the EU doesn’t have a say in it at all, even if you’re running away from making a call until last minute. Blaming someone else for your lack of leadership is pretty pathetic. You wanted to take control but now you can’t handle it; you wanted to be “sovereign” but now you can’t stand on your own feet. 

You seem to feel that No Deal isn’t something we would be satisfied with?


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[Pilotman]

31 minutes ago, samran said:

Why should the Irish government have to put up a border to deal with a problem that wasn’t theirs? 

 

 

because its a different country? 

[Pilotman]

So yet again, the 'Ireland question' comes back to haunt the UK and hold the rest of the UK to ransom.  If they truly are part of the UK in the North then of course there must be a border with the EU, with appropriate controls.  The Irish can't have their cake and eat it,  it's one or the other.   Maybe this is just the right time to finally get real and address the idiotic historic anomaly that is the north and accept the blindingly obvious, that the island of Ireland is indeed just one country. 

[Bluespunk]

2 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Someone tell me why the Irish government didn't put a border up when the IRA were killing Protestants (and Others) for years during the 1970s-1990s. Funny how it was important then but it is now!

The Irish government from the start recognised that brexit would endanger the Good Friday Agreement and have been trying to negotiate with the british government since the vote took place.

 

They want to avoid a return to the events of the past and have been trying to avoid a “hard” border. 

 

They have never ever wanted an external border and are not trying to impose one now. 

[Laughing Gravy]

16 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

The Irish government from the start recognised that brexit would endanger the Good Friday Agreement and have been trying to negotiate with the british government since the vote took place.

 

They want to avoid a return to the events of the past and have been trying to avoid a “hard” border. 

 

They have never ever wanted an external border and are not trying to impose one now. 

Maybe you should call the Irish prime Minister as he is saying differently.

 

"Ireland's prime minister said on Friday his government would find it very difficult to avoid imposing a hard border on Northern Ireland if Britain crashes out of the European Union without an exit agreement."

 

https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/irish-pm-says-eu-would-insist-on-hard-border-without-brexit-deal-18151131

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ireland-commission/no-brexit-deal-means-hard-irish-border-eu-says-idUSKCN1PG1GV

[Bluespunk]

25 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Maybe you should call the Irish prime Minister as he is saying differently.

 

"Ireland's prime minister said on Friday his government would find it very difficult to avoid imposing a hard border on Northern Ireland if Britain crashes out of the European Union without an exit agreement."

 

https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/irish-pm-says-eu-would-insist-on-hard-border-without-brexit-deal-18151131

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ireland-commission/no-brexit-deal-means-hard-irish-border-eu-says-idUSKCN1PG1GV

What the Irish want and what tory ineptitude is forcing upon them are two very different things. 

[Chomper Higgot]

58 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

The IRA wasn't their problem? Obviously you do not know your Irish history.

Nor it seems do you.

[samran]

59 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

The IRA wasn't their problem? Obviously you do not know your Irish history.

The IRA were a problem for the British controlled north, not for the republican south.

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

What the Irish want and what tory  ineptitude is forcing upon them are two very different things. 

The UK and Ireland both want to border to remain open, its the E.U and the WTO who would insist on there being a hard border

[sammieuk1]

They've got the a right Hunt to sort out Brexit ????

[samran]

39 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

because its a different country? 

I was talking about during the troubles. The UK and ROI were both members of the EEC and the CTA which took away the need for a hard border. 

 

Post brexit, both the UK and ROI will both still be CTA members, which allows free movement between both jurisdictions. 

[Chomper Higgot]

5 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

What the Irish want and what tory  ineptitude is forcing upon them are two very different things. 

In no small part because the DUP has the weak Tory Government by the short and curlies.

 

An abusive agreement paid for out of UK taxes.

[dick dasterdly]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

The IRA wasn't their problem? Obviously you do not know your Irish history.

 

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Nor it seems do you.

I'm pretty sure that Dublin suffered a few terrorist atrocities too over the years.

[Bluespunk]

7 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The UK and Ireland both want to border to remain open, its the E.U and the WTO who would insist on there being a hard border

I never said Eire wanted a border. 

 

The cause of the current impass is tory ineptitude and a failure to negotiate a deal with the Irish government three years ago when approached by the Irish government. 

 

The Irish saw the problems immediately after the brexit vote and tried to resolve them, the tories failed to respond.

 

The Irish even, at one point,  offered to agree on an interim agreement that would allow issues surrounding the Good Friday Agreement to be resolved as they arose. Guess what- the tories did nothing. 

 

The ongoing “backstop” debacle is fully on the tories, not the eu. 

[dick dasterdly]

44 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

So yet again, the 'Ireland question' comes back to haunt the UK and hold the rest of the UK to ransom.  If they truly are part of the UK in the North then of course there must be a border with the EU, with appropriate controls.  The Irish can't have their cake and eat it,  it's one or the other.   Maybe this is just the right time to finally get real and address the idiotic historic anomaly that is the north and accept the blindingly obvious, that the island of Ireland is indeed just one country. 

"Maybe this is just the right time to finally get real and address the idiotic historic anomaly that is the north and accept the blindingly obvious, that the island of Ireland is indeed just one country."

 

I'm inclined to agree - but this wouldn't be fair on the majority of those in N. Ireland, unless there is a referendum in N. Ireland, and the majority agree that the North and South should be united. 

 

With a bit of luck, if there is a genuine brexit, perhaps the electorate will agree to uniting with the South?

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Someone tell me why the Irish government didn't put a border up when the IRA were killing Protestants (and Others) for years during the 1970s-1990s. Funny how it was important then but it is now!

Because since around 400 AD there's been no-one here with the skills or organisation good enough to get it done.

See below.

????????????????

[Laughing Gravy]

29 minutes ago, samran said:

The IRA were a problem for the British controlled north, not for the republican south.

If you would have served in NI you would know that statement is absolute drivel and rubbish.

Racketeering, Gun smuggling, Kidnapping, Murder just to name a few.

[evadgib]

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Im afraid that’s a decision the UK has to make alone itself, and the EU doesn’t have a say in it at all, even if you’re running away from making a call until last minute. Blaming someone else for your lack of leadership is pretty pathetic. You wanted to take control but now you can’t handle it; you wanted to be “sovereign” but now you can’t stand on your own feet. 

Gordon Ramsey will put names on the crust for advanced orders...

[sanemax]

Just now, Laughing Gravy said:

If you would have served in NI you would know that statement is absolute drivel and rubbish.

Racketeering, Gun smuggling, Kidnap, Murder just to name a few.

Was there an IRA contingent from Ireland ?