Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that will share a land border with an EU member state after Brexit.
In its report released on Friday morning, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC) has expressed concern over progress in finding a solution to the UK-Ireland land border once Brexit kicks in.
Post-Brexit, the land border in Northern Ireland will change its status from an internal to an external EU border. The committee has pointed out the absence of a technical solution to render the border invisible.
The NIAC went on to say that the Government “will not have the time to implement a new non-visible customs regime before withdrawal day.”
“The Committee found that additional infrastructure at the border would not only be politically objectional but ineffective and unworkable,” the NIAC continued.
The Committee’s recommendations focused strongly on the avoidance of a hard border mentioning that “leaving the EU without a substantial agreement would have very negative consequences for avoiding a hard border.”
The Committee welcomed commitments that this would not happen.
The NIAC also rejected any and all proposals for customs checks therefore refuting a customs border down the Irish Sea. This was rejected due for financial reasons and due to the fact that it would be “incompatible with the spirit and intent of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.”
The report, entitled The land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, calls on the Government to do more to put a more clarified arrangement in place including processes and technical measures, allowing the current frictionless border arrangements to remain as such.
The report, which focuses on topics such as the movement of goods and the Good Friday Agreement, can be read in full here. The summary is broken down here.
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