The Land Border with the EU

For a country that tends to think of itself as an island, we've had quite a lot of trouble with borders over the years.  The worst was just over a hundred years ago when a civil war nearly broke out over what seems to modern eyes to be a very modest proposal to give Ireland home rule.  The problem was avoided, but only as a result of a bigger problem in the form of World War One.  Ireland was always going to end up independent, but the location of the border with the rest of the UK was the result of the particular circumstances just after the war.  They don't suit everyone even today and the issue is still a bit too raw for it to be sensible to open it up again right now.


But the Irish border is going to be in the news at some stage in the near future because it is going to be the land border between the UK and the EU.  The very idea of having a land border with a much bigger neighbour is one that I find rather disturbing.  Certainly the prospect of an Ireland where Dublin is the one with the most resources and Belfast is the poor relation turns many of my ideas about that island on its head.

To make things even more complicated, the Northern Irish voted to stay in the EU.  I don't imagine for a moment that their are many people in the pro-Union parts of Ulster who are so affectionate towards the EU that would rather join the Irish republic and leave the UK.  But such people may well exist.  As the troubles of the seventies and eighties recede in people's memories could the prospect of a united Ireland inside the EU seem more appealing than remaining in the UK?  Not tomorrow maybe, but who knows?  This turn of events was one that nobody saw coming.

But whatever happens in the more distant future it is a certainty that the land border will become a reality at some point in the next few years.  This is something that is going to force some decisions to be made.  Just what border controls are going to be in place, and how strongly will they be enforced.  The implications of this are going to be pretty far reaching.  Are we going to see a version of the Calais Jungle somewhere near Dundalk?  Will the EU set up passport controls Gibraltar style to make it hard for UK citizens to get into the EU?  Will lorries be pulled over and searched?

The links between Ireland and the UK are pretty strong.  There aren't many people in either country who don't have a friend, and often relations from the other.  A hard border between the two will be, well hard.   But if the UK really is going for the full Brexit experience and giving up free movement and free trade, how can it be any different?

The first noises we are getting on this is that the Brexit minister, David Davies, is thinking in terms of a soft border.  This hasn't yet raised any particular level of attention apart from an intervention from a former EU commissioner saying it is daft.  I am not so sure.  To me it indicates that aim is for Brexit to have as little impact as possible.  If that means porous borders well so be it.  In fact porous borders might be one of the aims.  Taking back control is a good soundbite, but being in control is not synonymous with exclusion.  If businesses want cheap labour then they'll be just as happy if it arrives from Somalia via Dublin as from Latvia via Heathrow.

If, and this is quite a big if, Scotland doesn't create an even bigger land border issue, I have a feeling that what happens in Ireland will be the first thing that will indicate how the EU negotiations are actually going.  There is going to be constant interest from the Northern Irish politicians about what the plans are for the border.  It won't make big headlines in England, but it will be a clue as to how seriously the issue of immigration is really being taken.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-eu-david-davis-hard-border-ireland-ridiculous-peter-sutherland-former-commissioner-a7221881.html