EU and UK agree on Brexit transition period through 2020 but Irish border remains unresolved
By
David
20 March 2018 (Edited )
Share This Article
Reuters
By

20 March 2018 (Edited )
Share This Article
Reuters
Follow @davidhboggs

Rating | Show Individual Votes |
Views | 219 views. Averaging 219 views per day. |
Related Articles |
Senior Member
Usergroup: Administrator
Joined: 30 January 2012
Location: New England USA Web: DavidHBoggs.com
Total Articles: 2810
Total Comments: 498
UK negotiators take the position that an EU-UK free trade deal to be agreed in 2021 will take care of the Ireland-NI border issue.
But (not unreasonably) the Irish government wants the Brexit treaty to provide an independent guarantee of an open border should the post-Brexit-transition free-trade deal not work out.
Because the continued existence of PM Theresa May's UK government depends on support of the pro-British NI DUP, Ms. May has had to reject an earlier EU proposal that NI remain under EU trade rules post-Brexit.
A hard Ireland-NI border would do serious damage to tourism in both countries, and in the worst case could result in renewed sectarian violence in the Island of Ireland.