EU will dictate border on island of Ireland

With the departure date for the UK from the EU put back to the end of October, there was a more relaxed mood in London and Brussels this week, not least because Westminster was in recess and the EU is winding down to EU elections, as well as using the time to focus more on shaping the next CAP.

Meeting of minds

However, the problems that prevented a solution ahead of the two missed departure debates remain and there is no indication of a meeting of minds between the UK Conservative and Labour parties.

Both now are focused on getting candidates for elections to the EU Parliament, which they don’t want to take part in.

Ironically, Nigel Farage, the former Brexit and UKIP party leader, has now launched his own party and is expected to be the big winner if elections are held.

Delayed but still there

For farmers in both the UK and Ireland, the threat of no deal continues, even if it is still some way off.

The issue was well summed up at the Irish Farmers Journal spring conference in Co Armagh recently when Michael Haverty from Andersons described the backstop in relation to the Irish border as a “trilemma".

Put succinctly, he described the Irish border issue as involving three issues of which any two were compatible, but not all three.

These are the ambition by the UK government to leave the single market and customs union, have no hard border on the island of Ireland nor any checks between Britain and Northern Ireland.

EU won't buy UK approach

The UK government would contend that its proposed approach in a no-deal scenario of allowing seamless access for produce from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland as the way to deal with the Irish border.

There is no way the EU will reciprocate with this arrangement and this was stated explicitly by secretary general of the EU Commission Martin Selymar in a recent documentary for a continental TV programme.

Therefore, it has to be the withdrawal agreement or the UK deciding to stay on in the EU, which is unlikely at this stage.

It will also be a concern to farmers in Northern Ireland and Britain that there is a relaxed approach to imports coming through the Republic of Ireland because when they enter Northern Ireland they can be distributed anywhere in the UK.

Ultimately, a border is about regulatory standards as much as it is about customs tariffs.

In fact, three-quarters of the border checking process is to do with standards.