Th e EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said he will work to avoid a hard Irish border after the UK leaves the European Union. He was speaking at a joint session of the Irish houses of parliament in Dublin. He is the fi rst non-head of state or prime minister to make such an address. Mr Barnier told Irish parliamentarians he had a duty to speak the truth and that the “UK’s departure from the EU would have consequences”. He also emphasised that customs controls were part of EU border management.
When the UK leaves the EU, it means the Irish border will become a customs frontier. Th e British and Irish governments have both said they do not want a return to customs posts on the border. Th e EU’s negotiating guidelines call for a “fl exible and creative” approach to the customs issue. However, no solid plans have yet been advanced by either the EU or the UK. Mr Barnier said that whatever happened in negotiations, “nothing should put peace at risk”. He added that he wanted to “reassure the Irish people” that in the Brexit negotiations the Republic of Ireland’s interest will be the EU’s interest. Mr Barnier said the EU wants the negotiations with the UK to succeed. “We will need to negotiate a ‘bold and ambitious’, but fair, free-trade agreement,” he said. Addressing Mr Barnier in the joint committee, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams told him he wanted to see a border poll within the next fi ve years. Th e EU negotiating guidelines state that issues relating to the Irish border will have be resolved in the fi rst phase of its talks with the UK. Th e guidelines call for “fl exible and imaginative solutions” to avoid a hard border. But they caution that any solution needs to “respect the integrity of the EU legal order”. Th at is understood to refer to how customs controls will be enforced between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Mr Barnier said the Irish border issue would be “one of his three priorities in negotiations”. Th e UK and Irish governments have repeatedly said they do not want a return to customs posts at the border. Th e taoiseach (Irish prime minister) has described Brexit as being bad bad for the UK, for Europe and the Republic of Ireland. Enda Kenny said it challenges Ireland’s peace and prosperity, although he said the country would maintain its close relationship with the UK. Th e Republic of Ireland’s economy is particularly vulnerable to any new tariff or regulatory barriers with the UK, which may arise as a result of Brexit.
Th e chief economist of the Irish Central Bank has warned that within 10 years of a “hard Brexit”, the number of people employed would be 40,000 fewer, compared with a no-Brexit scenario. Gabriel Fagan said that some small and medium-sized Irish businesses are “likely to be among the hardest hit by Brexit”. Seán Ó Fearghaíl, the speaker of the Dáil (Irish parliament), said Mr Barnier’s address was “timely and appropriate” given that Brexit “could have a greater impact on Ireland than any on other EU state”. “As legislators there is an onus on us to be fully informed on the implications of Brexit on this country in particular and on the EU in general and to communicate our particular concerns on Brexit,” he added. Mr Barnier is expected to visit a food production business close to the Irish border on Friday.
