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"Sweden and Norway are both Schengen members, so they have explicitly agreed on freedom of movement for people. That does not say anything about goods." Exactl
by Reason077 8y ago
"Sweden and Norway are both Schengen members, so they have explicitly agreed on freedom of movement for people. That does not say anything about goods."
Exactly. And this is the same situation for Ireland & Northern Ireland, post-Brexit. The UK and Ireland have a Common Travel Area which guarantees the free movement of people, just like the Schengen agreement.
"they want to go it alone and not align their trade policies with the European partners?"
The UK wants to negotiate free trade with the EU, but to not be a member of the customs union. The advantage of this is that it allows the UK to make its own trade agreements with other third countries.
The main UK opposition party (Labour), however, does want the UK to remain a member of the customs union.
- Tomte 8y agoIt cannot possibly be in the future, because that would give the UK control over our borders. I know that you're trying to set up an argument where it's supposed to be the EU's fault if border posts appear, but that's misleading. The UK changes things, the UK is responsible.
- Reason077 8y agoIreland and the UK are not members of the Schengen agreement. They have their own Common Travel Area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area
- theoh 8y agoCompare Switzerland: while it's not in the EEA, there are extensive agreements between Switzerland and the EU which ensure regulatory alignment on the issues that matter. There's no way to have Schengen-like free movement without either EEA membership or the Swiss "EEA lite" arrangement. You can't have customs checks at the border (avoiding customs union with EU) and simultaneously maintain the CTA regime. Edit: details here https://www.ft.com/content/2d30482c-da7e-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482 https://www.ft.com/content/2d30482c-da7e-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b...
- Reason077 8y agoNorway and Sweden have “customs checks at the border” while both being part of the Schengen Agreement. I’m not suggesting this is a desirable or unproblematic solution for Northern Ireland, but to claim that it is “not possible” is false. Any free trade agreement between the UK and EU would of course have “EEA-like” clauses to ensure regulatory alignment.