Friday 1 May 2020

The Irish border: questions are being asked

The Irish border question is another looming mini-crisis manufactured by Boris Johnson and waiting in the wings to join all the others on stage this summer. There was the first meeting yesterday of the special committee overseeing the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol and as expected, the EU are beginning to ask how it's all going and press for visible preparations. Perhaps the prime minister's regular insistence that there won't be any checks has got them a bit worried?

I know this because James Crisp, the Telegraph's Brussels correspondent, tweeted about it:
According to Crisp, the EU side was reassured the UK will meet its legal obligations, that 500 vets have already been recruited, a new IT system is underway and arrangements put in place for NI Geographic Indicators covering organic products. They were told we will be ready by December 31st.

However, they appear to be sceptical about it all and insisted lots more detail is required on how we plant to ensure the integrity of the single market and the protection of the GFA.

He has been give a 'techncal note', part of which he tweeted, showing the information that the EU say NI businesses need to know but which they have not been given. It might come as a surprise to those Conservative businessmen who listened to the PM last November in Belfast (HERE) as he told them, "There will not be checks on goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain" and "There will not be tariffs or checks on goods coming from GB to NI that are not going on to Ireland."

The month before, DEXEU Secretary Stephen Barclay had said there would be "limited targeted interventions" on trade from Northern Ireland into Great Britain and goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain would be subject to exit declarations.

He said that would amount to the filing of an electronic form, involving "fairly straightforward data".

Well we are beginning to see what that actually means, According to bit of the document leaked to Crisp, businesses in Northern Ireland should have been told about:
  • The introduction of customs procedures and facilities for goods entering NI from GB and leaving NI for GB
  • The introduction of regulatory checks and controls, including SPS controls, for goods entering NI from GB
  • The introduction of prohibitions and restrictions  in respect of goods entering NI from GB and leaving NI for GB.
  • The new regulatory environment in NI, in particular as regards technical regulations, assessments, registrations, certificates, approvals and authorisations.
  • The new regulatory requirements for UK fishing vessels landing fish in NI.
  • The application of VAT and excise rules concerning imports and exports to goods entering NI from GB and goods leaving NI to GB

Crisp reports that in practice they have been told nothing or 'nada' as he puts it. The EU are asking for details:
I think what we are seeing is the first signs of people becoming aware of what Brexit means.

On this topic I re-read Sir Ivan Rogers' speech in Glasgow last November when he said:

“In other words, when we exit we do not return to a world free of barriers, we return to the world as it actually is, which is full of barriers, notably non tariff ones, unless these have been removed by agreement. 

What we are returning to is the world in its natural state. Barriers to trade in every direction as far as the eye can see. Inside the single market, which has had the barriers painstakingly removed over forty years and more, they barely existed. Now businesses in Britain and Northern Ireland will be getting their first taste of life outside.

We are now going to start again from scratch, knowing that however hard we work to remove barriers to trade it will never replicate what we have at the moment - unless we rejoin of course.
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