EU's Hogan warns of hard Irish border if UK leaves customs union

REUTERS

 

European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A British departure from the European Union's customs union would result in the return of a "hard border" on the island of Ireland, the country's European Union Commissioner, farm chief Phil Hogan, said on Thursday.

 

In an unusually frank criticism of Britain's negotiating position, Hogan said London was alone in driving a hard border in what he described as a "utopia" that existed only in the pages of the governing Conservative party's election manifesto.

 

Prime Minister Theresa May, who called a snap election for June 8, has said that while Britain cannot remain a full member of the customs union, she wants an arrangement with the EU which allows trade to be "as frictionless as possible".

 

The border between the Irish Republic, an EU member, and the British province of Northern Ireland would be the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the EU once Britain leaves the bloc in early 2019.

 

"Let me be crystal clear – no one in Brussels wants a hard border. Certainly no one in Ireland wants a hard border. So far, London is the only place driving a hard border. Allow me to be even clearer – if London insists on leaving the customs union, this will be the road to a hard border," Hogan said in a speech in his native Kilkenny in the southeast of Ireland.

 

"We must do everything in our power to walk our British friends back from the cliff face of a hard Brexit and a hard border. Remaining in the customs union would avert this 'Made in Britain' disaster from occurring."

 

May has said she does not want a return to the "borders of the past", a reference to military checkpoints that marked the frontier until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep the province British.

 

In negotiating guidelines agreed last month, EU leaders said the unique circumstances on the island would require flexible and imaginative solutions. These included the aim of avoiding a hard border.

 

In equally frank remarks, Hogan also blamed "the Brexit mess we are left with" on successive British governments inability to face down the "lies" of British tabloid newspapers and instead seeking to ride a wave of populist euroscepticism.

 

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-02

was not their a border before these states joined the EU?

was it a hard border? if so where did it go?

The Irish are talking cr-p. The UK has never said that it wants a hard border. The only way this will happen is if the EU decides to impose one in 2 years time.

 

Passport border checks to the UK will be similar to today with people being checked at airports and seaports before going the mainland.

 

The Irish economy has a lot to lose from Brexit and they need to put pressure on Brussels not London to make sure that border controls are at a minimum.

 

 

The Europhiles are so very afraid of Brexit.

Just suppose Brexit will end well for Britain, more countries will go out from the undemocratic moloch.

 

1 hour ago, hansnl said:

The Europhiles are so very afraid of Brexit.

Just suppose Brexit will end well for Britain, more countries will go out from the undemocratic moloch.

 

So true...

Nothing scares them more than the prospect of a successful independent Britain.

What they really want is an economic smash that would be a clear lesson to other countries thinking about pulling out.

The Brits are very resilient and I cheer them on for wanting their country back. They have always survived adversity and will continue to do so. Socialism is too expensive and the EU will eventually go under water. You can bet that other countries are watching closely. Hopefully the PC crap will die with the EU.

2 hours ago, terryw said:

The Irish are talking cr-p. The UK has never said that it wants a hard border. The only way this will happen is if the EU decides to impose one in 2 years time.

 

Passport border checks to the UK will be similar to today with people being checked at airports and seaports before going the mainland.

 

The Irish economy has a lot to lose from Brexit and they need to put pressure on Brussels not London to make sure that border controls are at a minimum.

 

 

Passport checking is not the real issue, that would be relatively easy to resolve.

The fundamental problem is the movement of goods. There cannot be customs control between the European mainland and the Republic as the Republic is part of the EU.

If there was to be free movement of goods between the Republic and the North then effectively the North would come under the EU as the EU external border would effectively be between the North and the UK mainland. Where would that leave the North price and tax wise?

Many will see an obvious solution in reunification.

I am once again left scratching my head. The UK does not want a hard border. It is the EU that will insist

on a hard border if the UK leaves the customs union. But to remain in the customs union is to remain

in the EU. Pay us a 100 billion, allow EU citizens to come go and work. Give them more rights than

UK citizens, and increase EU subsidy payments or you will get a wall.

9 hours ago, VillageIdiot said:

So true...

Nothing scares them more than the prospect of a successful independent Britain.

What they really want is an economic smash that would be a clear lesson to other countries thinking about pulling out.

 

And they're quite prepared to engineer that economic smash if necessary, convincing themselves it's for the good of Europe and European Values.

 

Perhaps Mr. Hogan should be lecturing the EU MEP's and bureaucrats about the ever increasing fairy tale sum they are demanding be paid before even talking about such things.

 

Seems one side is already trying to create an impossible situation. Rather like Germany/Austria did to Serbia to kick off WWI.

11 hours ago, Gary A said:

The Brits are very resilient and I cheer them on for wanting their country back. They have always survived adversity and will continue to do so. Socialism is too expensive and the EU will eventually go under water. You can bet that other countries are watching closely. Hopefully the PC crap will die with the EU.

You are all dreamers, you just won't accept any negative facts about Brexit. You are living in the past. Without the  EU Britain is just a small country. You have got what you wanted so why don't you just face  the facts.

11 hours ago, sandyf said:

Passport checking is not the real issue, that would be relatively easy to resolve.

The fundamental problem is the movement of goods. There cannot be customs control between the European mainland and the Republic as the Republic is part of the EU.

If there was to be free movement of goods between the Republic and the North then effectively the North would come under the EU as the EU external border would effectively be between the North and the UK mainland. Where would that leave the North price and tax wise?

Many will see an obvious solution in reunification.

Reunification it is just a question of when. I think sooner than later. Probably just after Scotland leaves the UK

All I can say is power and politics and economics aside, dividing a country along religious lines is barbaric and ignorant in this so called modern age.  It is similar to muslims and hindus, muslims and christians, and other demarcations in parts of the world that many look at as ignorant and foolish animals

21 hours ago, Ulic said:

I am once again left scratching my head. The UK does not want a hard border. It is the EU that will insist

on a hard border if the UK leaves the customs union. But to remain in the customs union is to remain

in the EU. Pay us a 100 billion, allow EU citizens to come go and work. Give them more rights than

UK citizens, and increase EU subsidy payments or you will get a wall.

"But to remain in the customs union is to remain in the EU."

 

This is not true. Turkey is in a customs union with the EU. 

It is more than possible to observe the so called "will of the people" and still remain in a customs union. It is only TM's narrow minded attitude that has ruled it out.

 

Which ever way you slice it, outside a customs union there must be a hard border somewhere in Ireland between the EU and the UK.