The EU must realise the game has changed. It is time to compromise
Boris Johnson has made a strong opening bid in his negotiations with the EU. During this process, several things are strikingly different from the previous government.
First, there is no requirement to achieve completely “frictionless trade”; the EU recognises that this can only be delivered by the customs union and single market. The Johnson administration seeks a new settlement, more readily understood by the EU: a comprehensive FTA with the whole of the UK with Irish border facilitations, customs facilitations and regulatory cooperation. Since both parties want this, it should be relatively easy to amend the political declaration.
Second, Mr Johnson has made it clear that the duty of sincere cooperation will be interpreted more favourably to the UK, comporting with international law. Already, Liz Truss
has advanced discussions with a number of countries, in particular the US. All of this is consistent with a trade policy that culminates in FTAS with many countries, including the EU.
But the EU’S response has been disappointing; claiming that the PM’S letter to Donald Tusk “does not set out what any alternative arrangements could be”. This could hardly be further from the truth. The Alternative Arrangements Commission, whose technical panel I chair, has proposed endless ways of delivering customs checks away from the Irish border without hard infrastructure … and collected them in a 273-page report. If it is detail the EU wants, they don’t have to go far to find it.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is agri-food. The need for sanitary and phytosanitary measures and veterinary checks could be solved by moving facilities away from the border and using mobile units.
Don’t be fooled by the EU’S feigned ignorance. Its unbending commitment to the backstop is a product of political dogma. Yet sooner or later, an alternative to a hard border or the backstop will be needed. Eliminating the backstop alone is not enough. The PM must also secure changes to the political declaration, but these have been on offer for months.
A free-trade agreement is the obvious end point for UK/EU relations. For that to function, Brussels must do one of three things: build a hard border in Ireland; cut the Irish off from the rest of the EU with a customs border down the English Channel; or work with us to deliver alternative arrangements. They will face the same choice if we leave with no deal on Oct 31. Then, the only way Ireland can assure the EU it is protecting the single market and customs union will be a border between Ireland and the EU-26. This, coupled with no deal’s impact on the beef industry, could devastate its economy.
With a Prime Minister who wishes to prioritise free trade and is unwilling to countenance the “vassalage” of the backstop, it is time all parties realised that the game has changed and compromise is required.