EU negotiator addresses Ireland post-Brexit future
May 11, 2017
The European Union's lead Brexit negotiator paid a visit to Ireland, which faces particular uncertainty once the UK leaves the EU. Michel Barnier said he would work with the Irish to avoid a "hard border."
Barnier addressed the Irish parliament on Thursday, saying "if we are open to finding solutions, there is no reason why our strong Europe cannot maintain a strong relationship with the UK."
Ireland is an EU member with particularly close ties to the UK given the land border it shares with Northern Ireland, which belongs to the UK but will leave the EU once the Brexit is complete.
This leaves Ireland facing an uncertain future: currently, Ireland enjoys border-free trade with the UK under the EU's single market. Once the UK leaves the EU, border-free trade is no longer guaranteed.
As Barnier pointed out, "customs controls are part of EU border management, they protect the single market, they protect our food safety and our standards."
Northern Ireland's farmers concerned about Brexit
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But there are concerns that a border implemented between Ireland and Northern Ireland would lead to increased tensions between the two countries, calling to mind decades of violence that ended in 1998 with the Good Friday agreement.
Michelle O'Neill, the Irish leader of the republican party Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, said after talks with Barnier there was "the need for the North to be designated special status within the EU with no border in Ireland, continued access to the single market and also to the customs union."
Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU during last summer's Brexit referendum.
"Ireland's interests will be the union's interest," Barnier told Irish parliamentarians, adding that the "EU will be here for you."
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Barnier has a "clear and precise understanding of the Irish position" on Brexit.
Following his speech in parliament, Barnier paid a visit to farmers at an Irish dairy cooperative near the border with Northern Ireland.
mz/kms (dpa, AFP)
Disputed Irish loughs present Brexit dilemma for fishermen
An estuary that forms part of the border between the county of Down in British-run Northern Ireland and Louth in EU member Ireland, is one of two waterways that present complex issues as Britain decides to leave the EU.
Waterways present Brexit conundrum
Mussel fishermen share many of the concerns about Britain's divorce from the European Union. They are also felt by many people who earn a living along the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Fishermen are worried
Many fishermen have an additional headache on top of the prospect of tariffs and trade disruption: the waters in which they fish are the subject of a territorial row that stretches back decades. Carlingford Lough is a waterway that forms part of the border between the county of Down in British-run Northern Ireland and Louth in EU member Ireland.
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Carlingford Lough border issues
In this picture Northern Ireland is seen on the left and the Republic of Ireland on the right with Carlingford Lough in the middle. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said it is of "vital national interest" that no physical barrier or customs controls be put back on the border, winning initial EU backing. But the fishermen of Carlingford Lough fear their concerns will not be a priority.
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Stuck in the middle
Fisherman MacDonald explains: "No one can define who owns what. Neither of the two governments have defined the border here and nobody can say where is the North and where is the South. We're stuck in the middle and nobody wants to talk to us about it."
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Scenic view of the Irish landscape
In fact, talks are ongoing between the Irish and British governments relating to the jurisdiction of Carlingford Lough and the unresolved ownership of Lough Foyle, which lies to the west between Donegal and Derry. The Loughs Agency, a cross-border body overseeing both areas, said that in a statement.
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Border dispute might hurt the industry
Mussel fisherman Brian Cunningham, seen here with his skipper Shay Fitzpatrick, explains, that most boats based in Northern Ireland normally fish off the coast in the Republic of Ireland. He thus fears that Brexit could lead to a doubling up of paperwork such as trawler registrations. This adds costs that would hurt the industry.
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Difficult times ahead for mussel fishermen
"When Brexit comes, what's going to happen? We're going to have to jump through hoops that by the time the paper work is sorted out our mussels will be dead. Mussels are landed live, processed live and sold live to the customer. It's a live animal, so it's going to be very, very difficult," Cunningham says.
