EU intransigence and the Irish border question
SIR – The EU has got itself into the present crisis because it failed to appreciate that giving precisely nothing to David Cameron during his attempted renegotiation of our membership terms could possibly lead to Britain’s exit from the bloc.
Britain’s position should now be fair and reasonable, but no more than that. Further prevarication and unreal demands should lead to a rapid cessation of further negotiations.
On the matter of Ireland, we should state that we will not in the first place impose a hard border and will therefore allow free movement of goods in both directions, meaning that our exports to the EU via Ireland will be tariff-free. If the EU subsequently wishes to place a tariff on imports from the UK it will be up to the Irish government to construct such a border. Edward Davies
Corsham, Wiltshire
SIR – How is it that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has become so vexed?
On a holiday in Germany just a few years ago, I visited the city of Konstanz on the eastern shore of Lake Constance. My hotel happened to be in the small village of Gottlieben, just across the border in Switzerland. The walk into Konstanz took 20 minutes involving a footpath and some residential roads. The border crossing was virtually invisible and unmanned.
If the Germans and Swiss can manage it, why can’t we? Matthew Woodward
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
SIR – Regarding Brexit and Ireland, we should not be surprised. “Every time the British tried to solve the Irish question, the Irish changed the question” is a familiar starting point for most students of Anglo-irish relations. Theresa May apparently now has less than a fortnight to solve something that has confounded British governments for generations. I wish her good luck. Gilbert Dunlop
Great Offley, Hertfordshire
SIR – Reprising the old joke: a British motorist asks: “How do I get out of the EU?”
The Irishman replies: “If I were you, sir, I wouldn’t start from here!”
Sir Michael Ferguson Davie Evercreech, Somerset