EU’s plan for Ireland:
BRUSSELS has been accused of an “outrageous” attempt to threaten the future of the Union by using Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations.
European leaders are expected to agree today that Ulster would automatically join the EU if it became part of a united Ireland – raising the spectre of a break-up of the UK after Brexit.
Separately, Donald Tusk, the European Council president, has told member states that the question of Ireland’s border with Northern Ireland must be settled before trade talks can begin.
Mr Tusk has already stoked a row over Gibraltar’s sovereignty by saying any Brexit deal could apply to Gibraltar only with Spain’s permission.
Theresa May, who yesterday met Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, will today tell voters on a visit to Scotland that every vote for her will “strengthen the Union” as well as fortifying her hand in the Brexit negotiations.
Unionists said it was “irresponsible” of European leaders to “meddle” in Northern Ireland’s sovereignty, while one Conservative MP said Brussels had indulged in a “ludicrous attempt to stir up trouble”.
It came as Europe expanded its demands for Britain’s “divorce bill” to include “political” commitments, such as the UK’s share of a £2.5 billion fund to help refugees in Turkey.
Today’s meeting of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels – to discuss their Brexit negotiating position – will include a statement on Irish reunification at the request of the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Sources said it would amount to a “factual legal statement” that Northern Ireland would join the EU automatically if it voted to become part of a united Ireland. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement allows for a referendum on reunification if there is reason to believe a majority are in favour.
A day after Angela Merkel warned Britain to have “no illusions” about Brexit, Mr Tusk again struck a hard line in a letter to EU leaders.
He said the issue of Ulster’s border with Ireland – the EU’s only land border with the UK – had to be settled before substantive talks on a trade deal could start.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said: “This is a deliberate and outrageous attempt to meddle in the affairs of a nation state, just like they did in Gibraltar.” A government source said: “Northern Ireland’s constitutional position as part of the UK is based firmly and clearly on the freely given consent of its people.”
Germany’s finance minister last night warned that Britain would have no advantages over EU countries after Brexit. “There is no free lunch,” Wolfgang Schäuble said. “We don’t want to weaken Britain. But we also don’t want that the rest of Europe is weakened. Britain should not have advantages after the exit that other countries don’t have.”