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I kind of feel the whimper came before Christmas, in the talks discussing Northern Ireland and the status of the border there between the UK and Europe. I can't
by rusk 9y ago
I kind of feel the whimper came before Christmas, in the talks discussing Northern Ireland and the status of the border there between the UK and Europe. I can't remember the details exactly but the Good Friday Agreement [0] provided a constitutional footing whereby the UK effectively gave an undertaking to abide by the rules of the EU trade area, while not being a member of the EU trade area.
This to prevent the erection of a "hard border" (i.e. one you couldn't freely traverse without a Visa) which would be required as a customs barrier, rather than for security.
This agreement completely undermines a lot of the wackier ideas around free trade that have been floating around and defangs some of the nastier aspects of brexit.
The UK is still free to set her own internal monetary and social policy but she's effectively bound to EU trade rules, and the EU of course must consult her in setting these.
It's an epic compromise on both sides that basically allows for a continuation of business as usual without undermining the "brexit means brexit" doctrine.
A lovely example of how peace once established can be the gift that keeps giving.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement
- moomin 9y agoThe Good Friday Agreement basically makes the UK (or Ireland) the single worst country to attempt to leave the EU. The biggest problem with the December declaration being that it's hard to trust the government to make good on it. (The consequences for being seen to be negotiating in bad faith are too awful to contemplate, but the government seems to be post-rational a lot of the time.)
- emptyfile 9y agoWithin a week Davis said something to the effect of, "this deal is not really legally binding".
- rusk 9y agoYeah Davis says lots of things ... But what's important is that all the UK cabinet got behind it, including Johnson. It's a "get out of jail" card for the whole mess. It solves loads of problems for everybody. The only person actually grumbling was Farage, which can only be a good thing.
- toyg 9y ago> and the EU of course must consult her in setting these. What? No. The Eu didn't commit to a single thing in that agreement, beyond graciously accepting for the UK to pay its bills and letting it trade as long as they follow EU rules. The UK will end up like Norway: paying the price for selling into the EU, without any say in EU rules. Which is exactly what was predicted at the start, and makes the Uk a de-facto vassal state. Brexit is so great.
- rusk 9y agoThe Eu didn't commit to a single thing The EU agreed that given this agreement there would be no requirement for a customs border. The term "Vassal state" is incorrect as it describes a nation that has been subjugated to the will of another nation e.g. Ireland's relationship with the UK before the 20th century. The EU is not a state, it is a "collection of states" and is the realisation of the need for greater alignment of policy between neighbouring countries. The portrayal of the EU as some kind of evil controlling super-state is a lie, plain and simple. That's not to say there isn't plenty of things wrong with the EU but the correct response is, as one of the major nations of Europe for the UK to get in there and make it work. Instead the UK has repeatedly sent Farage.
- toyg 9y agoOh I do agree that the UK position has consistently been silly, all the way back from the very day they joined with their ad-hoc "rebate". I am not trying to portrait anything in an evil light, it's just as it is: UK voters, by their own free will, materially reduced their sovereignty in commercial matters. They put themselves (and us EU citizens in UK) into this situation, although it's not too late to forget the whole thing and go back being a peer.