Ireland border Brexit proposal in tatters
BRITAIN: The European Union has comprehensively rejected British proposals for avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland, in a move that casts serious doubt on the United Kingdom’s ability to leave the customs union, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Senior EU diplomatic sources said that Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for avoiding a hard border was subjected to a ‘‘systematic and forensic annihilation’’ this week at a meeting between senior EU officials and Olly Robbins, the UK’s lead Brexit negotiator.
‘‘It was a detailed and forensic rebuttal,’’ added the source, who was briefed on the meeting on Thursday. ‘‘It was made clear that none of the UK’s customs options will work. None of them.’’
The demolition of the UK’s Brexit customs policy, set out by May in her Mansion House speech last month, came after five rounds of technical negotiations in Brussels.
It now sends the Cabinet and Whitehall back to the drawing board, and raises the serious prospect that May will have no choice but to remain in the EU customs union if she wants to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.
The blow follows the government’s first defeat in the House of Lords over the EU Withdrawal Bill, with peers voting for an amendment that favours staying in the customs union.
Although British negotiators were fully aware of EU scepticism, the complete inflexibility of the European Commission and EU member states is understood to have left them shocked.
The impasse will reopen the debate over UK membership of the customs union, which has been ruled out by May and Brexiteers as a ‘‘betrayal’’ of Brexit.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned this week that there would be ‘‘very little point in Brexit’’ if the UK was not free to set its own tariffs.
The Telegraph also understands that Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has suspended internal talks on the future EU-UK trade deal, putting further pressure on Britain.
With only 10 weeks until the June European Council meeting, the Telegraph understands that May will now chair weekly meetings of her inner Brexit ‘‘war cabinet’’ as Whitehall scrambles to find solutions.
During last month’s speech, May said that remaining in the EU customs union would ‘‘not be compatible with a meaningful independent trade policy’’, and proposed two options for avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland while retaining the ability to set tariffs.
The first was a ‘‘customs partnership’’, under which the UK would collect duties on the EU’s behalf for goods that were destined for the EU.
This was rejected by the EU on three grounds – first, that the EU could not allow a country outside its supervision mechanisms and IT systems to levy duties; secondly, that it unfairly placed the burden of collecting tariffs on business; and thirdly, that implementing the scheme would be too expensive.
May’s second proposal was a ‘‘highly streamlined customs arrangement’’, which would combine ‘‘trusted trader’’ schemes with technology. This, too, was rejected by member states, which are concerned about setting precedents for ‘‘turning a blind eye’’.
At a briefing in Brussels last week, one ambassador put up his hand and asked if anyone could tell him how to open an exportimport business in Ireland, ‘‘because it is going to be great business if there are no customs controls’’, according to an account obtained by the Telegraph.
Doubly worrying were EU warnings to Robbins that, even if the UK did join a customs union, there would still need to be ‘‘full compliance’’ with EU rules on goods and agricultural products – and not just in Northern Ireland.
‘‘It was made clear that you cannot leave only Northern Ireland aligned on goods and agriculture and not the rest of the UK. In this scenario, you would still need full ‘third country’ barriers between Belfast and UK mainland ports,’’ the source said.
Following the defeat in the Lords, Tory rebels increased the pressure yesterday by tabling a motion calling on the government to make being in an EU customs union a negotiating objective.
The vote, which has cross-party backing, will be non-binding, but government whips are expected to use it to take the temperature of the Commons ahead of similar votes in the future that could force ministers to change course.