STOP THIS BREXIT BORDER MADNESS
Jacob Rees-Mogg says ‘political will’ can solve Northern Ireland deadlock Our investigation shows how hi-tech Swiss system simplifies customs checks
SENIOR Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg last night demanded the EU cease its efforts to frustrate Brexit and resolve the Northern Ireland border issue.
The leading Brexiteer is one of many who think Britain could model the province’s post-Brexit boundary on Switzerland’s frictionless frontier.
Mr Rees-Mogg issued the rallying cry after the Daily Express saw at first hand how the Swiss manage to
avoid a hard border by using technology and assessing risk.
Its borders with Germany, France, Italy and Austria run smoothly despite it remaining resolutely outside the customs union.
This, he said, was a prime example of how the EU is capable of resolving complex border issues when it wants to.
Mr Rees-Mogg said: “As the Daily Express reports the Swiss border is extremely effective. The system has been running for years so it would be possible to have something even more efficient between the UK and the EU.
“There is no need for a hard border in Northern Ireland, or for controls to be at the border, they can all be arranged remotely.
“The Swiss model is an example of what can be achieved if the political will is there.”
Northern Ireland has become a key battleground between London and Brussels over what happens once the UK leaves the bloc.
But the ease with which £425billion worth of goods passes in and out of Switzerland every year makes a mockery of the EU’s position that Northern Ireland might have to remain in the EU customs.
Control
Switzerland remains outside the customs union yet each day 2.1 million people, 1.1 million cars and 24,000 lorries cross the border.
Running the Swiss digital frontier costs £639million a year, a figure in stark contrast with the £20billion HM Revenue and Customs claimed a frictionless border might cost.
Switzerland’s economic and trade relations with the EU are governed by a series of bilateral agreements whereby the Swiss take control of certain aspects of EU legislation in exchange for accessing part of the single market.
Yesterday the Daily Express was given exclusive access to customs controls on the Basel-Weil am Rhein autobahn on the German border.
Hold-ups are a rarity for both domestic and heavy good vehicles. Border guards evaluate the bulk of traffic based on intelligence and risk with around one in 10 cars pulled over for checks.
The Daily Express team crossed the border into Germany and back again without delay.
Hardliners in Europe want the EU to apply standard checks to any goods coming into its customs union through the Irish Republic.
But at the Swiss border the process is seamless with a digital customs system.
For transit goods passing through Switzerland to the rest of Europe, vehicle and driver particulars are electronically verified at a border checkpoint. Each driver has a smart card recording the load of the vehicle, weight and number of miles driven. The card is scanned at the checkpoint without the driver leaving his cab and takes a maximum of two and a half minutes. The Swiss do not collect tariffs on behalf of the EU because most drivers carry pre-paid transit documents. At the customs post on the BaselWeil am Rhein autobahn, Switzerland’s busiest, imported goods are declared at a forwarding agency post which receives advanced notice of the load before documents are verified by Swiss customs. Officials say 95 per cent of the paperwork is above board and clearance takes around 20 minutes.
Figures from the federal government show that last year trade between Switzerland and the EU was worth £100billion on goods weighing 17 billion tons.
Rolf Tschudi, head of the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, said: “When it comes to checks the FCA must keep a sense of proportion. We want to carry out effective and efficient checks.
“Our specialists often determine within a fraction of a second whether or not a check is appropriate.”
Theresa May is committed to leaving the customs union and single market and has pledged to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Swiss customs officer Marco Lori said: “It is not necessary to be part of a customs union or single market to have a smoothly working border, we are an example of that. This is not a hard border. It is not necessary to stop and search every vehicle because we have the technology in place.
“We have a fully electronic process that enables us to distinguish between transit goods and customs clearance and it works very well.”
A Government spokesman said: “We have set out two viable future customs arrangements with the EU – a new customs partnership without the need for any customs checks and a highly streamlined arrangement in which EU goods would be subject to customs checks but in a way that minimises disruption through technology. Both would meet our commitments to ensuring trade is as frictionless as possible, avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and enabling us to establish an independent international trade policy.”
£639m the yearly cost of Swiss digital frontier
£100bn last year’s trade between the EU and Swiss