Chief plays down backstop checks on N. Ireland trade
Sturgeon pulls out of event
PARIS, Oct 21, (Agencies): The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier stood firm on the need for checks on goods shipped from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland after Brexit, while insisting this would not amount to a new border, in an interview published on Sunday.
Negotiations on Britain’s departure from the European Union are stalled on several issues, but primarily an Irish ‘backstop’ both sides agree is needed to avoid a hard border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, an EU state.
Brussels insists that this in turn requires controls on goods shipped from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland, and is trying to overcome objections from among UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives and the Northern Ireland Unionists crucial to her government’s parliamentary majority.
“Contrary to what some are saying, this is not a border we are creating in the Irish Sea to undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom,” Barnier told Le Journal du Dimanche.
Veterinary checks are already conducted on 10 percent of livestock transported to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, Barnier said. This would increase to 100 percent under the backstop, he added, but a later animal-health agreement could reduce the proportion inspected to 40 percent.
Barnier said other backstop measures were needed to prevent unauthorised Irish imports of goods such as chlorinated chicken, produced in the US but outlawed by EU food standards.
He said other issues still preventing a deal include the demand by Brussels that the European Court of Justice should have jurisdiction over its implementation - as well as Britain’s reluctance to address registered designations of origin for foodstuffs, such as champagne or Roquefort cheese.
Britain’s Brexit Secretary has urged rebellious Conservative lawmakers to stop attacking Prime Minister Theresa May and “play for the team.”
Dominic Raab also said that talks about the UK’s exit from the European Union must be tied up by the end of next month to allow enough time for new laws to be put in place.
Leader pulls out of event over Bannon: Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of an Edinburgh conference because former White House strategist Steve Bannon is scheduled to speak at the event.
In a tweet Saturday, Sturgeon said she believes “passionately in free speech” but declares she “would not be part of any process that risks legitimizing or normalizing far-right, racist views.”
Bannon is to be interviewed by a BBC journalist and answer questions at News Xchange, a media conference in Edinburgh on Nov 14-15. BBC News is a host partner.
“The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure ... promoting an anti-elite movement.’ This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalization,” Sturgeon said.
Ferry collides with yachts: A ferry collided with several yachts and ran aground while trying to berth at a harbor on the Isle of Wight off southern England on Sunday, officials and the ferry company said.
The accident took place early Sunday when the ferry was sailing from Southampton to East Cowes and was trying to berth at Cowes Harbor in dense fog. The coastguard said about 40 passengers and 16 staff onboard the ferry were safe and no injuries were reported.
Lifeboats and a helicopter were sent to search the area after someone reported hearing cries of help at the harbor, but authorities said no one was found in the water or was reported missing.
The Red Falcon ferry was refloated later Sunday with the assistance of tug boats and Cowes Harbor was reopened.