Growing concern in France and other European states about the shape of Border to come, writes Shona Murray

French minister sees nothing at the Border – and it should stay that way

TIME is “running out” for Britain to bring solutions to keep Ireland Border-free, the French Minister for European Affairs warned.

Nathalie Loiseau visited the invisible demarcation line between the North and the Irish State this week.

“I knew it was a difficult issue, but knowing it because I read about it is something quite different than being on the ground meeting people, seeing the reality of this invisible Border,” she told the Irish Independent.

Ms Loiseau travelled with Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee and French Ambassador to Ireland Stéphane Crouzat.

She said “now time is running out”, given “the UK will leave the EU in a year”, and Britain still hasn’t come up with any reliable alternatives to customs and border checks.

Although further details emerged last night of the transition period faced by Britain, it still insists it will leave the single market and customs union. The Irish State may therefore be obliged to conduct customs checks and apply tariffs on goods entering the EU’s internal market.

Speaking about her experience on the Border, Ms Loiseau said: “Today there is no limitation to the circulation of people, to the work of businesses on both sides of the Border it means that we have to find a solution so that tomorrow the maximum simplicity remains, and at the same time, we have to preserve the single market”.

EU sources say member states are anxious the Border issue is settled in order to protect Europe’s single market.

Some members of the French Farmers’ Association have demanded a hard Border in order to protect the EU from unauthorised agricultural products.

The EU’s lead negotiator Michel Barnier recently warned that a Border seemed “unavoidable”.

“Now time is running out because the UK will leave in a little more than a year and we have to come to the adoption of a withdrawal agreement no later than October this year,” Ms Loiseau said.

The first draft of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement is due in March.

The withdrawal agreement is the legally binding text detailing the commitment made by British Prime Minister Theresa May in avoiding a hard Border and protecting the Good Friday Agreement.

It will include the backstop scenario, where Britain said it will keep all EU rules and regulations across the whole of the UK, in the event that both sides fail to agree a comprehensive trade deal.

The British government insists it can come up with a satisfactory plan involving advanced technology and cameras, which will negate the need for a physical Border.

According to the British side, the use of cameras and specialised registration will also complement a new, broad trade agreement.

But so far, no concrete proposals have been forthcoming, and the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

“Our British partners have always said that there has to be creative ideas – we are ready to examine these ideas but until now they have been reiterating political statement,” Ms Loiseau said. “A hard Brexit without an agreement would benefit no one”.

The French government has reiterated its “solidarity” with Ireland over Brexit. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit this year.

Tweeting a picture of the border – a main road with yellow and white lines – Ambassador Crouzat wrote “The Irish border: Nothing to see. Precisely.”