The word habitually used by EU negotiators to characterise Boris Johnson’s Brexit offer is “uncertainty”. They talk of “uncertainty” about how the new customs border on the island of Ireland would work, about whether all the necessary checks could really take place away from the border. They say there is “uncertainty” about whether this new customs border would undermine the principle of sustaining an all-island economy.
They talk about “uncertainty” around the VAT regime for Northern Ireland and the EU. They talk about “uncertainty” about the operation of the single market for goods and food on the island of Ireland, and the proposed new checks on goods and food flowing back and forth between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
And of course they talk about the risk of permanent, corrosive “uncertainty” built into the new arrangements – in the unlikely event they were ever agreed – from Johnson’s stipulation that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly would have the right every four years to close down the all-Ireland single market.
All of this means that there is zero chance right now of Johnson’s offer being taken by EU negotiators into the so-called “tunnel” for the kind of detailed negotiation that could turn it into a ratifiable deal.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in