Exposed: How EU has weaponised peace in N.I. over 1/500th of EU’s goods imports

If the EU’s Single Market is at risk from 0.2% of imports from N.I. then they’re in real trouble

Facts4EU.Org presents proof the EU’s actions can’t seriously be about ‘integrity of the Single Market’

Informing the World about the EU's vindictive 'Northern Ireland Protocol'
Part Five of a series of reports demonstrating the EU's true nature

The full series:-
Part One - The Protocol itself | Part Two - How the EU has threatened peace | Part Three - Irish Customs overruled by EU | Part Four - UK Customs stopped from solution by EU | Part Five - Trade involved is minuscule (this report)

In this fifth part of our Northern Ireland Protocol series, Facts4EU.Org lays bare what is perhaps one of the biggest EU distortions of all in this sorry affair.

Put simply, “the integrity of the EU Single Market” is NOT at risk from goods crossing the N.I. border. 99.8% of all EU’s goods imports do NOT cross the border from Northern Ireland. This is and has always been a bizarre, manufactured, and completely implausible argument used by the EU to punish the UK for leaving, by annexing part of its territory.

The strangest thing of all is that the EU have not been completely ridiculed about it throughout the World.

Over and over again, EU bureaucrats and EU27 leaders have spoken of the need “to preserve the integrity of the Single Market”. They have used this phrase to justify the Northern Ireland Protocol which places Northern Ireland under the EU’s laws and effectively separates it from the rest of the United Kingdom, of which it is inherently a part.

Is the EU serious about ‘the integrity of EU Single Market’ because of an N.I. threat?

The simple fact is that in 2019 – the last year for which official figures are available - 99.8% of all the EU’s goods imports did NOT cross the border from Northern Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland’s imports from its northern neighbour (now technically a land border for the EU) did not even amount to a rounding error in the totality of the EU’s imported goods that year.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

EU’s imported goods figures for 2019

Value of all goods imported into EU: €1.94 trillion (approx £1,672 billion GBP)
Total of goods imported from N.I. : €0.004 trillion (approx £3.5bn GBP)
N.I. exports over the Irish border represented only around 1/500th of all EU imports into its Single Market

Statistical notes: We used trade statistics from 2019, as these are the latest available from Northern Ireland’s official statistics agency, NISRA. Nevertheless, these show the traffic of goods across the border with the Republic and with the rest of the United Kingdom and were unaffected by Covid-19. We used a 2019 exchange rate of €1.136 to £1.00 and compared with the official total for all EU27 goods imports for 2019 provided by the EU’s official statistics agency, Eurostat.

In 2019 the UK was still part of the European Union. Despite this, the EU’s statistics agency has been removing data from its latest reports, to exclude the UK even when it was still a member. For the statistics in our report today we have removed the UK entirely from the total of the EU’s imported goods in 2019. This makes the Northern Ireland numbers truly proportionate to the EU27’s total value of imported goods.

The simple, basic facts about Northern Ireland’s sales

The rest of the United Kingdom is by far Northern Ireland’s largest external market, accounting for almost 50% of its external sales of goods. Great Britain is followed by the rest of the non-EU world, on almost 21%.

According to the official Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Northern Ireland’s sales of goods and services in 2019 amounted to £71.9 billion. External sales to the rest of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the rest of the EU, and the rest of the world totalled £23 billion.

The Office for National Statistics states that 78% of N.I.’s external sales are goods. Given that we are only interested in goods crossing the border, we have used this ratio in compiling the data below.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Northern Ireland’s external sales of goods in 2019

Great Britain (UK excl. N.I.) : 49.1%
Rest of the world (excl. EU) : 20.9%
Republic of Ireland : 19.6%
Rest of the EU (26 countries) : 10.5%

Source: NISRA report dated 28 April 2021.

Observations

The justification used by the EU for effectively annexing part of United Kingdom’s sovereign territory and ‘ripping up’ the Good Friday Agreement (in the words of its surviving architect, Nobel Peace Price winner Lord Trimble), is “to preserve the integrity of the EU Single Market”.

Who do the EU think they’re kidding?

The value of the EU’s imports of goods crossing the Northern Irish border to the Republic of Ireland, still an EU member, is just 0.2% of the value of all goods imports entering the EU. In accounting terms this is a rounding error.

If the EU thinks the integrity of its Single Market is in any way under threat from such a tiny amount of imports, the vast majority of which are in any case covered by a small number of N.I. exporters under the trusted trader scheme, then they really are in trouble.

It’s high time that this sort of nonsense was called out for what it is. Why pretend to go along with the EU’s absurd rationalisations? The EU saw an opportunity under Theresa May’s weak Remainer government to make an issue out of nothing, which would divide the United Kingdom – something which she vowed that no British Prime Minister could or would ever do.

The Varadkar and Coveney Irish government at the time enthusiastically embraced the EU’s plan, seeing its potential to split Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, move further towards taking Northern Ireland into the Republic, and to curry favour with Brussels.

Fortunately it was the British people who rose to the challenge again, having first done so in the 2016 EU Referendum. In 2019 they were finally able to elect an ostensibly pro-Brexit government led by Boris Johnson. Unfortunately that government felt unable to tear up the Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol, as we urged them to do.

Instead they opted for a compromise, faced with a bad situation, and now they must confront the consequences. There is no question that this deal should never have been signed, but equally there is no doubt that the EU is applying the terms of the deal in such a rigid way as to make it completely unworkable.

Last week Lord (Dan) Hannan called for the Northern Ireland Protocol to be revoked by the UK in an excellent article in the Telegraph. ("The arrogant EU won’t budge an inch. We have no choice but to abolish the Protocol")

This has always been Facts4EU.Org’s position and once again we urge the Government to do this.

Facts4EU.Org can help

If the Government acts, they might find it useful to present the evidence in our five-part series to the World. And we are happy to provide all of our background research to them at a very modest cost….

Talking of our financial position, can you please help us by sponsoring this series? We badly need funding to continue. We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any donation goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations. Nor do we ask you for further donations if you donate once - we just hope that you keep supporting us.

Yes, 'ordinary people' CAN make a difference

Many people like you, our readers, have expressed their profound concerns about the current state of democracy and the direction where this great country of ours is headed. Brexit Facts4EU.Org continues to work behind the scenes - in addition to what you read on our website and in social media - to pressure the Government and MPs.

It has always been everyday people like you who made it possible for Facts4EU.Org to exist and to provide this service. We present facts-based research that most of the MSM fails to provide, and through that give a voice to a more common-sense approach that is shared and sought by so many people, still not being heard as it often differs from the 'party line' or 'right thing to say'.

Yes, you can do something and we hope you will. Please help us out with a donation today, so we can keep fighting for a free, truly independent, and sovereign United Kingdom and research and publish facts presented in a way you won't see anywhere else.

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[ Sources: NISRA | ONS | EU Commission's official statistics agency ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 14 Jun 2021

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Reader Comments 15

1. Terence, Derbyshire , Monday, June 14, 2021, 07:37:

If this doesn't show up the EU's despicable tactics for what they are, what does? Hard facts showing wehat a nonsense the EU's northern ireland protocol really is. They're worried about 0.2% of all their imported goods? Seriously? Come off it. They did this to punish us and to take part of the UK.

2. Captain Thunderbolt , Monday, June 14, 2021, 09:22:

I guess it comes down to should the UKGov set a border poll easy way to fix the problem, if NI unite with the ROI then all internal problems rest with the EU. If they vote to remain part of the UK then the NIP should be torn up with the provisions within for the NI government to vote down the NIP

3. Diane , Monday, June 14, 2021, 09:35:

Sensible move by the new DUP leader, Mr Poots, in response no doubt to the ignorance, arrogance and offence on display at the G7, by writing to one of our EU friends and partners enclosing a copy of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, in case a reminder is needed about Northern Ireland's constitutional status within the United Kingdom.

4. Richard Tenko Pops Harrison , Monday, June 14, 2021, 10:16:

It’s got nothing to do with a risk to the single market it’s got everything to do with the EU dictatorship

5. One eyed king , Monday, June 14, 2021, 15:01:

But 100 % of the EU politico are intent upon causing disruption to bring Britain back to the milking shed. Fascist paracites, one would consider that our public servants first priority should be to protect against such attacks?

6. kb , Monday, June 14, 2021, 15:13:

I'm afraid this instalment lets down the series. A government or organisation like the EU cannot be seen to turn a blind eye to the regulations, even when it would be more convenient to do so. Otherwise everyone else will want the same.
To argue that it is too small to bother about and therefore should be disregarded is never going to fly in a million years. You seem to think it is two individuals sitting down to bargain with each other. It's nothing like that. Processed meat products from "3rd countries" are not allowed to be taken into the EU. They would have to change that regulation for everybody, not just the UK.

7. One eyed king , Monday, June 14, 2021, 16:31:

The nurenburg defence will rise again eh Kb, check 5 years of reports from this very site to educate yourself.

8. Milly , Monday, June 14, 2021, 18:36:

kb, but they're not letting processed meat into the eu are they, they're letting processed meat in from one part of the uk to another part of the uk, regardless of whether they will ever get into an eu country.
All 5 of these reports should be sent to the us embassy to pass on to Joe Biden & Nancy Pelosi, because they're making comments against the uk when they're obviously not in possession of all the facts.

9. Conor , Monday, June 14, 2021, 18:50:

kb, interestingly you only comment if you've got something negative to say so not at all interested in your bitter additions

10. kb , Monday, June 14, 2021, 19:11:

Milly (8) the reason we agreed to checks between one part of the UK and another part of the UK is to avoid customs and sanitary checks at the actual UK/EU border. This apparently has to be avoided at all costs. The idea of having customs in the Irish Sea came from the Theresa May administration, not the EU itself. The EU side likely think they are doing us a big favour by not insisting on checks at the actual EU border.
Conor (9), not true, I actually complimented F4EU on the previous episodes of this series. This episode lets it down. It's like asking HMRC to let you off £20 in tax because it's only £20 and not worth pursuing. Ain't gonna happen.

15 comments, page 1 of 2

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