The Irish Backstop has played a big part in Brexit negotiations so far, due to the politically volatile situation of the Irish border. First introduced within May’s deal, the backstop allows the UK to enter a transitional period after Brexit which would allow it to remain in the Customs Union and some areas of the Single Market. This would prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, allowing goods to transition between the two countries freely whilst subjecting the UK to various EU regulations.
Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, is in favour of the backstop due to the nature of the Good Friday Agreement between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This agreement ensures co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic and requires there to be no controls or checks on the Irish border. This means that in order for the UK to leave the EU, which the Republic of Ireland also is a member of, there needs to be an agreement that prevents a hard Irish border which is what the backstop facilitates. Remaining in the Customs Union and Single Market means that the UK is still bound to regulations from the EU, but is able to access the EU market of the Republic of Ireland without checks.
Boris Johnson and the UK government however are not in favour of the backstop agreement. Whilst Boris does not desire the presence of a hard border in Ireland, he has called the backstop “anti-democratic” according to the BBC and is adamant that a new deal should not contain it. His main gripes come from the fact that the backstop agreement requires the UK to be part of the EU Customs Union, meaning that it can then not strike new trade agreements with other countries such as the US and China. This lack of sovereignty, coupled with the fact that the backstop has no unambiguous end-date and that if the backstop is to be ended the EU must agree, has led to Boris and other hard-line Brexiteers being opposed to it!
The EU are generally opposed to removing the backstop from the withdrawal agreement, as they believe that the UK’s proposed technical solutions to the hard border problem are likely to be unsuccessful. An all-Ireland animal health and food safety regime has also been discussed by the UK government, although this is unlikely to solve all of the issues posed by Brexit. If the UK and the EU cannot agree on what should happen with the backstop agreement, then on the 31st October it appears likely that the UK will leave with no deal, which will add checks to the Irish border and threaten peace in Ireland.
By Nathan Howell
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