Backstop is the word of the week.
As the United Kingdom’s cabinet continues to shamble its way through Brexit negotiations, details emerged this week of a possible “backstop” plan that would see the UK essentially remain in the customs union in the event that no trade deal is reached with the EU.
This backstop plan would run for two additional years, and give negotiators more time to reach a trade deal. The maintenance of the customs union would also allow for more time to resolve the Irish border issue.
However, it has become clear that many in the cabinet, such as Brexit secretary David Davis, have problems with the backstop plan — and it remains unclear whether the proposal is workable, or even desired.
Michael Healy-Rae TD, Chairman of the Oireachtas’ 11-member EU Affairs Committee, spoke out about the latest confusion.
“Our Committee is of the firm and unanimous view that promises of a British ‘backstop’ represent only a potential postponement of economic and social hardship for tens of thousands of Irish citizens who cross the border daily,” Deputy Healy-Rae said. “It represents no solution to any problem, merely a failure to reach a coherent decision at all.”
“We must view this proposal as a matter of temporary relief, but only that,” he said. “This time-limited ‘backstop’ means we still face the risk of a reversal of fortunes for an all-Ireland economy that has been growing with great promise since the 1993 abolition of border controls. Uncertainty is the enemy of economic growth. The promised ‘backstop’ extends this period of uncertainty.”
The EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier has also spoken about the proposal, and said that the backstop could only apply to Northern Ireland, and not to the rest of the UK.
To avoid any confusion between the EU backstop & the UK customs paper: I reiterate that our backstop cannot apply to whole UK. 4 freedoms are indivisible. This is not a rejection of the UK customs paper on which discussions continue. #Brexit
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) June 8, 2018
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