Newington's Sarah Mann summarises the UK's Brexit position paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Overview

The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) published a paper on 16 August setting out the Government’s position on issues surrounding the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland in light of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

• The 30-page position paper was released ahead of the third round of Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU on 28 August.
• It is the second in a series of 12 expected papers which will be published before the European Council summit taking place in October, in order to speed up what the UK Government views as a “sluggish” pace of negotiations.

Key provisions

The paper groups its ‘proposals for discussion’ with the EU under four headings: upholding the Belfast (‘Good Friday’) Agreement in all its parts; maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) and associated rights; avoiding a hard border for the movement of goods; and aiming to preserve North-South and East-West cooperation, including on energy.

Upholding the Good Friday Agreement

• Current citizenship rights should be maintained, meaning that the people of Northern Ireland will have the right to both British and Irish citizenship, with Irish citizens continuing to benefit from EU membership.
• PEACE funding for reconciliation projects in border areas should be continued.

Maintaining the Common Travel Area

• The Common Travel Area (CTA) and its associated rights should be maintained, allowing the free movement of people between Northern Ireland and Ireland:
  • Protecting the ability of British and Irish nationals to move freely and work within the UK, and between the UK and Ireland, with no practical change from now.
  • The UK emphasises that its future immigration system will not impact on the ability of those entering the UK from the CTA, to do so free from routine border controls. 
  • The UK highlights that neither the UK nor Ireland is part of the Schengen border-free area, which enables both countries to maintain border checks, but it also adds that wider questions about the UK’s operation of its whole border and immigration controls for EEA nationals will be answered at a later stage.

Avoiding a hard border for the movement of goods and options relating to customs

• A “frictionless and seamless” border should avoid any “physical border infrastructure” in order to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland.
• Ensuring no return to a hard border will require detailed engagement on customs, agriculture and relevant economic matters as negotiations progress, but in principle the most critical issues to reach agreement upon will be customs arrangements, and checks and processes on particular goods.
• The UK must reach an agreement with the EU to ensure that the Irish side of the land border (which is subject to EU regulations) is also as “seamless and frictionless as possible”.
• Any new models for the land border would be developed on the basis on nine principles, which include; preventing the creation of new barriers to doing business within the UK; addressing regulatory and customs-related barriers (including security and standards checking waivers); and addressing the transit of goods to and from Ireland to the rest of the EU via the UK.
• The Government also outlines that it will seek, at an early stage in negotiations, a time-limited interim period to ensure an orderly transition.
• Regarding customs processes, the Government points to its earlier position paper on customs with the EU, but it notes that specific issues relating to customs and checks on particular goods, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, will need to be prioritised and considered in depth at an early stage of negotiations.

Preserving North-South and East-West cooperation

• The Government is looking to ensure that the full range of North-South and East-West cooperation can continue, which it acknowledges will require a bold and ambitious Free Trade Arrangement.
• Early consideration is specifically needed concerning the energy market in Northern Ireland and Ireland.  The UK emphasises the importance of facilitating the continuation of the Single Electricity Market covering Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Analysis

As the paper itself recognises, maintaining the invisible and open border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is seen as essential to any agreement reached between the UK and EU. The UK Government appears confident that maintaining the peace process and avoiding the recreation of hard borders, constitutes enough of a common interest to provide a basis for negotiations with the EU, and indeed the European Commission has welcomed the paper as a “positive step” in their progress.

However, there is doubt around the feasibility of an unmanned border, the success of which would require high levels of trust from all parties. Commentators concerned with migration have suggested that the 310 mile border could be used as an entry point for economic migrants if border checks are not introduced; however the Government has indicated in its paper that CTA administrative cooperation and visa requirements already in place set precedent for the UK maintaining existing movement to the UK from the CTA. It also emphasises that it believes the Government will be able to put in place a new immigration system that controls for EEA citizen movement while maintaining the free movement provision under the CTA.

Next steps

The UK Government is keen that the key provisions of this paper are agreed to by the European Council at its summit in October. Rounds of negotiations preceding this summit will take place in preparation, but the UK has been clear that it would like discussions relating to Northern Ireland and Ireland to continue beyond the initial phase of negotiations in August. Brussels has said it would like to see “sufficient progress” on Irish border negotiations before talks on future trade ties between the UK and EU can begin.

If you would like to speak to Newington about how your business could best outline its position to the Government please get in touch with our dedicated Brexit team at TeamNExEU@newingtoncomms.co.uk or call Lizzy Roberts on 020 7234 3332.