The Irish border is becoming ever more important. It's the first real test of reality entering the fantasy world of Brexit, the first of many. Last week Theresa May was given ten days, until a week on Monday the 4th December, to come up with a solution, one that the Brexiteers have not been able to come up with for nearly eighteen months. We learned yesterday that the Irish EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan (HERE) says Ireland intends to play "hard ball" over the border question.
I don't blame the Irish in the least. They are doing what is in the best interests of Ireland and have played a very canny diplomatic game. Essentially their position is this: if you are going to smash our economy then we'll do the same to yours. And why not? This is what we would do and in fact we are doing every time we threaten to walk away from the talks.
The Telegraph continues to mislead its readers about the border and says (HERE) Ireland and the EU should stop trying to use the border issue as a stick to beat us with. They simply do not get the issue. Or perhaps they do but don't want to ruin the fantasy for its readers. This is what their editorial says:
The border between the UK and Ireland is an entirely internal matter: the two countries enjoyed a free movement area before joining the Common Market. Yet the EU and Dublin seem determined to use the border as a stick to beat the Government with, as a demonstration of European solidarity and a crude negotiating tactic in the Brexit talks. That this performance is dressed up as some crusade to protect the peace process is particularly tasteless.
The Telegraph still hasn't cottoned on to the idea of the UK becoming a third country. But it will. And that means a hard border. The EU cannot change this. It is written into treaties and if they offer us a special arrangement every other "third country" will demand the same - and under WTO rules will have to be given it. This is not negotiable.
