Proof : EU has prevented Northern Ireland border solution for three years

For the EU this has always been political – it’s about punishing the UK
For the Irish Government this has always been about pursuing a united Ireland

Michel Barnier © BBC / Sir Jon Thompson, HMRC boss © Parliament

Devastating testimonies condemn Irish Government and EU, over NI and Brexit

For three years the EU and the Irish Government have prevented UK and Irish Customs from agreeing a straightforward solution for the Irish border question.

It was clear from the outset that - as a result of the EU Referendum - UK and Irish customs authorities would have to discuss and agree new arrangements for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Existing border arrangements on the Irish border have always been ‘different’

Given the relatively open border since the 1990s, special arrangements have already existed for many years. There has always been a border in Customs and Revenue terms because of the two countries’ different tax regimes, different excise duties, different VAT rates, and even different currencies.

Here is Mr Niall Cody, Chairman of the Board of the Irish Revenue Commissioners, giving testimony to a Committee of the Irish Parliament in 2017. He was asked about existing arrangements for controlling the border and gave the details for the previous year.

“The vast majority of these checks were carried out in approved warehouses and other premises with a very small number at a port or airport. The low level of import checks is the result of pre-authorisation of traders, advance lodgement of declarations and an extensive system of post-clearance checks, including customs audit, which are carried out at traders' premises.”
“Authorised economic operators, AEOs, have a special status in the system and under agreed protocols are allowed to operate greatly simplified customs procedures. There are currently 133 AEOs, which account for 82% of all imports and 89% of exports. It will be very important that the bulk of trade continues to be through AEOs after Brexit.”
- Niall Cody, Chairman of the Board of the Irish Revenue Commissioners, testimony in 2017

So why didn’t Irish and UK Customs get together to agree to extend existing border arrangements?

It is clear from the testimonies of the most senior Customs officials on both sides of the border – the department heads with the expertise – that they were prevented from talking to each other by the EU and by the Irish government.

“We are not in any form of negotiation or even having any discussion with the UK at this point.”
- Liam Irwin, then Irish Revenue Commissioner
Q: “Could Mr. Cody clarify whether there is a legal impediment to negotiations between us and-----“
Niall Cody (Chairman of Irish Customs): “Yes.”
Q: “-----so we can have discussions but not negotiations?”
Niall Cody : “The European Union will be negotiating with the United Kingdom in regard to Brexit.”

- Senior Irish Revenue officials, testimony to the Dáil committee in 2017

And here is what the UK Customs boss said

“There are no formal conversations with either the French or the Irish. We cannot talk to Customs or taxation management organisations in either of those countries.”
- Sir Jon Thompson, Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs, giving evidence to the Exiting the European Union Committee, 29 Nov 2017

Sir Jon went on to say that discussions with the Irish Revenue had started, but were halted – and not by the British.

Finally, here are two EU Parliament officials

Two years ago two EU officials who work for Guy Verhofstadt, then the EU Parliament's Chief Brexit Coordinator, were caught on camera when Mrs May caved in:-

Official One: "We got rid of them! We kicked them out! It took us two years but we managed.”
Official Two: "It's done! On our terms and conditions. We finally turned them into a colony and that was our plan from the first moment.”

- Officials working for Guy Verhofstadt, EU Parliament Brexit Coordinator, caught on camera by BBC4 documentary

Observations

If the EU and the Irish Government had been remotely interested in preserving the Good Friday Agreement and peace in Northern Ireland, what would have been more logical than for the civil servants responsible for each side of the border to discuss new arrangements?

Instead, the Irish side has been banned from doing so for the last three years. This was a deliberate act.

A quick solution to altered arrangements for the NI border, sorted out by those who know the most about it - the Customs teams on each side - was not in the EU’s interests. The EU wished to use the border as one of their three pre-emptive issues to prevent trade being talked about and to keep the UK in the Single Market and Customs Union. In this, they have succeeded to this day.

And what of the Irish politicians involved in this?

The EU had a willing partner in this subterfuge in the form of the fiercely nationalist Irish government of Messrs Varadkar and Coveney.

Despite a 'no deal' Brexit being catastrophic for the Irish economy, it is our opinion that they put their own political considerations above the interests of their own people, and effectively weaponised this issue.

In so doing, they have been played by Brussels. It remains to be seen if the Irish people will ever forgive them.

IMPORTANT: Tomorrow we will be publishing our fourth factsheet in the "Brexit Fightback Initiative". We badly need sponsors for this important work. Please see our Brexit Fightback Initiative page for details.

[ Sources: Irish Parliament | UK Parliament | BBC4 documentary ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 08 Oct 2019

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Reader Comments 20

1. Pud , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 07:30:

Two more factors that point to the Irish border being a non-issue in reality:
a) It wasn't included in the widely publicised reasons to vote Remain
Project Fear was scraping the barrel to find reasons to Remain. Would it really have missed the Irish border if it was such an obvious problem?
b) The SNP claim Scotland can leave the UK and remain in the EU
I'm not suggesting that everything the SNP says is believable. However, if Scotland was in the EU and the rest of the UK had left then there would be a land border between England and the EU and I've heard nothing from the SNP to suggest it would cause any problems. The ferry crossings from Dumfries and Galloway to Northern Ireland would also be a UK/EU border.

2. John Finn , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 10:53:

All of the above is true but we've known about it for 2 years at least - yet remainers either choose to ignore it or simply don't know about it. In fact many leave voters don't know about it. It's been virtually impossible to get the information across to the public. The next Brexit Party TV ad needs to focus less on the shortcomings of the Tories and give more prominence to the issues you've raised here. I thought their last effort was lame and uninspiring.

3. James Bertram , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 11:24:

Breaking news:
https://twitter.com/NigelDo...
Nigel Dodds
‏
@NigelDoddsDUP
43m43 minutes ago
More
“The true purpose of the “backstop” is now in the open for all to see.
Those who eagerly supported the backstop as the best of both worlds can now see the error of that assessment.
It was neither temporary nor an insurance policy.”
@DUPleader
+ copy of Arlene Foster's letter.

4. James Bertram , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 11:45:

Arlene Foster's letter:
The comments from the German chancellor to the prime minister that Northern Ireland must remain in the EU customs union forever now reveal the real objective of Dublin and the European Union.
For the United Kingdom to be asked to leave a part of its sovereign territory in a foreign organisation of which the UK would no longer be a part and over which we would have no say whatsoever is beyond crazy. No UK government could ever concede such a surrender.
The EU is not interested in a negotiated outcome at this time. Their position is the UK can only leave with a deal if it agrees a binding piece of international law permanently tying either the whole country or a part of it to the EU’s legal order over which it has no control.
The true purpose of the “backstop” is now in the open for all to see. Those who eagerly supported the backstop as the best of both worlds can now see the error of that assessment. It was neither temporary nor an insurance policy.
It appears that Martin Selmayr’s remarks about Northern Ireland being the price of Brexit is still the EU negotiating stance.
The prime minister’s proposals have flushed out Dublin’s real intentions to trap Northern Ireland in the EU customs union forever, where Dublin rather than the United Kingdom’s elected representatives would be in the driving seat.
We will not accept any such ultimatum or outcome.

5. Chris , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 12:14:

Some more from 'No.10 source' on this morning's call between Merkel and Boris:
“The call with Merkel showed the EU has adopted a new position. She made clear a deal is overwhelmingly unlikely and she thinks the EU has a veto on us leaving the customs union.
“Merkel said that if Germany wanted to leave the EU they could do it no problem but the UK cannot leave without leaving Northern Ireland behind in the customs union and in full alignment forever.
“She said that Ireland is the government’s special problem and Ireland must at least have a veto on Northern Ireland leaving.
“Merkel said that the Prime Minister should tell northern Ireland that it must stay in full alignment forever, but that even this would not eliminate customs issues.
.
A united Ireland has been Varadkar's aim from the start of course, and it also suits the EU perfectly, since it weakens our economy by making it smaller.
Somehow, I think that the German car manufacturers will have something to say about this however. To deliberately flush your second largest export down the pan does not make good business sense, particularly if your economy is already in recession.
.
What will the Remoaners do now? Revoke A50?

6. James Bertram , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 12:34:

Good summary article @13.19 of today's news:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk...

7. Chris , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 12:56:

James, excellent article.
Cummings comments are brilliant.

8. James Bertram , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 13:18:

'as popular as the clap' - this has to be Cummings!
-
The source writes:
Those who supported delay will face the inevitable consequences of being seen to interfere in domestic politics in a deeply unpopular way by colluding with a parliament that is as popular as the clap.
Those who pushed the Benn act intended to sabotage a deal and they’ve probably succeeded. So the main effect of it will probably be to help us win an election by uniting the leave vote and then a no-deal Brexit. History is full of such ironies and tragedies.

9. Ivory Bolackof , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 13:22:

I was once a remainer and would defend the idea of staying in the EU all day long. I could not see the logic of leaving the EU after all these years. But one day something happened that altered my mind completely!..... I GOT HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A SHOVEL

10. James Bertram , Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 13:42:

Not counting chickens just yet, but I particularly liked this quote:
-
Consumers4Brexit Retweeted
The Brexit Battalion
‏
@BrexitBattalion
3h3 hours ago
More
I think when future generations look back on this, they'll see Brexit for what it was: a battle for democracy
Not only will we have secured it for them, they'll learn from us to never take it for granted
We've shown its fragility & how willing those in power are to remove it

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