Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

DUBLIN (Reuters) - British and European Union Brexit negotiators have reached agreement on a deal for all Irish issues, including the maintenance of regulatory alignment on the island to avoid a hard border, two Irish government sources told Reuters.

“Agreement has been reached on an overall deal for the Irish issues,” one of the sources said.

“The key phrase is a clear commitment to maintaining regulatory alignment in relation to the rules of the customs union and internal market which are required to support the Good Friday Agreement, the all-island economy and the border.”

"The PM has been clear that the UK is leaving the European Union as a whole and the territorial and economic integrity of the United Kingdom will be protected," the Prime Minister's spokesperson said.

Speaking at Stormont DUP leader Arlene Foster said: “We note the speculation emanating from the European Union exit talks regarding the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom border.

"We have been very clear. Northern Ireland must leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the United Kingdom. We will not accept any form of regulatory divergence which separates Northern Ireland economically or politically from the rest of the United Kingdom. The economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom will not be compromised in any way.

"Her Majesty’s Government understands the DUP position. The Prime Minister has told the House of Commons that there will be no border in the Irish Sea. The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK is leaving the European Union as a whole and the territorial and economic integrity of the United Kingdom will be protected.

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It is being said the DUP scuppered today’s deal. This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.


Laura Kuenssberg
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@bbclaurak
Hearing it was the DUP call that sunk today's chances of a deal - Foster held her press conf, 20 mins later May leaves talks with Juncker to call her, goes back into the room and the deal is off
11:22 AM - Dec 4, 2017
181 181 Replies 663 663 Retweets 379 379 likes
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And this is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.


Beth Rigby
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@BethRigby
Govt source; “They were on board but the language was too strong for them”. Got Dublin over the line but not the DUP. For today at least https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/937718845573394432 …
11:25 AM - Dec 4, 2017
8 8 Replies 28 28 Retweets 23 23 likes

[...]
It is no longer whether Northern Ireland will leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK. It is whether the rest of the UK will now leave the EU on the same terms as Northern Ireland. Given what seems to have been conceded, there is only one way for Northern Ireland not to have a special status – and that is for all the UK to remain in the customs union.

The hard Brexiters like to see themselves also as hard unionists. But these two positions have just become radically incompatible. There are just two possible outcomes. If Northern Ireland in effect stays in the customs union and Britain leaves, then there will have to be an internal UK customs border, checking goods moving between Northern Ireland and British ports. This undoubtedly weakens the union.

But the only way to avoid this is for the UK as a whole to stay in the customs union – which of course the true believers don’t want either.
[...]
It was always stupid to turn the border issue into a face-off between mighty Britain and little Ireland. But that’s how the hard Brexiters and their Tory press allies chose to construe it.

Having done so, they might now ask themselves: if, for the first time in 800 years, Ireland is proving to be in a much stronger political position than Britain, what does that say about what Brexit is doing to Britain’s strength? It is being forced to accept what it claimed to be unacceptable, not because Ireland has suddenly become a global superpower but because it has the unflinching support of EU member states, the European parliament, and the EU negotiating team. There might be a lesson in there somewhere for a country facing a future without the allies it has long taken for granted.

Theresa May is expected to return to Brussels before the end of the week, after her hopes of securing an agreement on the Irish border on Monday were dashed after an eleventh-hour intervention by the DUP leader, Arlene Foster.

The prime minister will chair cabinet on Tuesday morning before a day of diplomacy with Foster and DUP MPs, in an attempt to rescue the deal needed to persuade Ireland and the other leaders of the remaining 26 EU nations at a summit next week that “sufficient progress” has been made on divorce issues to move Brexit negotiations on to the future trading relationship.

May had to break off from a lunch with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Monday that was due to have settled the border issue for an urgent call with the DUP leader, whose party supports her minority government in Westminster.

Former DExEU minister David Jones said it had been a miscalculation by Downing Street and warned that May must not underestimate the importance of Foster’s party.

“It was a very difficult day, and there will be people in Downing Street who have regretted not making it clearer with the DUP that everything was agreed before they got on the plane to Brussels,” he said. “The prime minister has a lot of talking to do with Arlene Foster today.

“We can’t ignore the parliamentary arithmetic, the DUP is what is keeping this government in power. And therefore we can’t overlook they are in a very strong political position and they have to be taken seriously.”

... ... ...

At this point it seems like it would be best to let Foster/DUP go and have another election.

The EU has focused attention on Britain’s dysfunctional political system as a roadblock to progress in Brexit talks – warning that the UK needs to work out its internal differences to reach a deal.

Speaking the day after the shock failure of Theresa May to make progress after face-to-face meetings in Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission warned that “the show is now in London” as far as Brexit was concerned.

It comes after the DUP torpedoed a deal previously agreed by the Prime Minister with the EU on the Irish border – with DUP leader Arlene Foster apparently telephoning the PM while she was meeting with EU president Jean-Claude Juncker.

The DUP, which only has 10 MPs and won less than 1 per cent of the national vote, holds an effective veto on many government policies because Ms May is relying on them for a majority in the House of Commons.

The European Commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels: “We have a common understanding with the United Kingdom on most of the relevant issues but there are some topics still open which will need further consultation and negotiation, notably in London. The show is now in London.”

The spokesperson would not confirm when Ms May would return to Brussels for more talks. Negotiations to convince the DUP to back the Government are already underway.

What does the DUP want?

While the DUP wishes to avoid a hard border, the party has also stated that it wants to leave the customs union along with the rest of the United Kingdom. Numerous commentators and political figures have pointed out the contradictory nature of its position, but the DUP believes a “soft border” can be maintained with technology, including drones and land-based cameras used to track vehicles.

The DUP is quite split on Brexit – some leading members of the party, such as Westminster MP Nigel Dodds, are much more bullish about the prospects for the UK as a result of Brexit. Others, particularly at the local level in Northern Ireland, are more concerned about the potential for political and economic fall-out.

What is the DUP opposed to?

The DUP is opposed to anything which is seen to give Northern Ireland “special status”, such as by allowing it to continue to enjoy some of the privileges that come with being a member of the EU. It won’t support any arrangement that suggests a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Not only would “special status” separate Northern Ireland from the trajectory of the rest of the UK, some Unionists feel the option is associated with the Irish government and the DUP’s chief opponents in Northern Ireland: Sinn Féin.

What does Ireland want and what is it opposed to?

Ireland wants to avoid a hard border. While the UK government has agreed to this in principle, Ireland is seeking concrete details on how this can be achieved. Ireland’s first preference is for the UK to remain in the single market and customs union – but as the UK government has ruled out this option, Ireland is seeking clarity on alternative proposals. It is concerned about the impact that a potential border would have on the Northern Ireland peace process, cross-border cooperation, daily border crossings and trade.

Ireland was always the EU member state most economically exposed to the impact of Brexit. Tariffs could devastate the Irish food industry and bring all kinds of additional costs and bureaucracy – as well as concerns about illegal activity over the border.

At this stage the EU’s position is closely aligned with Ireland’s.

...how should political parties communicate with other EU-countries' leaders in your opinion?

A prominent Conservative party donor has called for ministers to oust Theresa May after failing to strike a Brexit deal.

The founder of Pimlico Plumbers, Charlie Mullins, claimed the prime minister’s incompetence is “hobbling” the UK’s negotiations and invited “that bunch of jellyfish masquerading as the cabinet” to force her from office.

Mullins also blamed May for handing power to the Democratic Unionist party, who he describes as a bunch of “bowler hat wearing relics”.

The DUP’s intervention on Monday prevented an EU deal from going through. His intervention follows jitters among Conservative MPs over the handling of the negotiations which they say may have damaged the UK’s reputation for competence.