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16th Aug 2017

A ‘hard border’ in Ireland after Brexit just got a lot less likely

This is very encouraging.

JOE

border checks

The paper addressed the unique border circumstances.

The UK Government stated that an “unprecedented solution” for the Northern Ireland and Republic border was needed soon.

The future management of the Irish border has been a big topic of discussion and is one of three main priorities in the UK-EU Brexit talks.

According to the BBC, a paper that details the proposals surrounding the matter has focused on the need to avoid a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

The policy paper “outlines the UK’s position on addressing the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and Ireland in light of the UK’s EU withdrawal.”

In the paper, the UK Government have stressed that no physical infrastructure should be installed across the 200 crossing points at the border.

They also include that there should be no need for CCTV cameras or number plate recognition technology at any crossing points either.

Rather, the UK Government has asked for a wide-range of exemptions under which small and medium-sized businesses will not have to comply with any new customs tariffs.

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he broadly agreed with the position paper’s “aspirational” principles.

“They reflect a lot of the language that the Irish government has been using, actually, in terms of maintaining the status quo, frictionless borders,” he said.

Sinn Féin MLA, Michelle O’Neill branded the papers as a cynical attempt to use Ireland and the peace agreement as a bargaining chip in a wider EU negotiation.

“They are not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement, the economic interests of Ireland north and south or the democratically expressed wishes of the people to remain in the EU,” she said.

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