Irish border problem 'red clutter' says DUP MP

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One of the 10 Democrat-Unionist Democrats supporting the minority government of Theresa May has called the important blocking point in the Brexit negotiations to be described as "panic".

Sammy Wilson told the BBC's World Service that there was no "real problem".

The EU says that there must be an arrangement to prevent physical checks at the 310-mile border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Until now, London and Brussels have not managed to solve the problem.

This suggests that the UK would leave the EU without any agreement in March 2019.

Mr. Wilson, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for East Antrim and party spokesman for Brexit, said: "This is a formidable ploy that was launched to begin negotiations until the British government change, make sure that the price of leaving the EU is the dissolution of the United Kingdom or the maintenance of the United Kingdom in the customs union and the single market ".

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The MP pointed out the words of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who said that the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, had given assurances about the border.

In July, Varadkar said: "President Juncker and my EU colleagues have repeatedly stated that they would not force us to put in place physical infrastructure and customs controls at the border. between Northern Ireland and Ireland ".

The office of President Juncker refused to say he had made such an assurance, simply stating that he would not comment on the ongoing negotiations.

Sammy Wilson added: "There is no real problem, as the EU has now confirmed." They say that in case of lack of We will not place any boundaries, so what's the problem? "

A Taoiseach spokesman said: "The British government, the Irish government and the European Union have repeatedly made clear their determination to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union ".

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So why all the discussion then?

The EU wants a so-called arrangement, an insurance policy, so that the border on the island of Ireland remains open if the UK and the EU can not get on agree on a future commercial agreement or technological solution.

This could include the maintenance of Northern Ireland in the customs union of the European Union and related to certain rules of the single market.

Theresa May has already stated that any proposal to create a common space on either side of the North Irish border "would undermine the British common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom".

And DUP MPs warned that they would vote against any Brexit deal that treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK.

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"We do not want to change the government, we just want to change its policy.

"If it means that the current leader is falling behind, it's a problem for the Conservative Party, not for us," Wilson said.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney told the BBC in October that the UK had to keep the border-line promises it made last year, stating that " Britain was committed in writing … to creating a safety net ".

"We must insist on the commitments made by the Prime Minister vis-à-vis Ireland and the EU to provide guarantees, there could never be any physical infrastructure border ", did he declare.

"It takes a backstop unless and until something better can be negotiated," Coveney said.

When discussing Theresa May's agreement on Northern Ireland's background last year, Sammy Wilson said: "The mind confuses that everyone can be so stupid".

Theresa May recently said that 95% of the Brexit agreement had been reached.

Sammy Wilson said the claim should be treated with caution.

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"Although the Prime Minister may think it is 95% of the way, the captain of the Titanic estimated that he was 95% of the way to his destination.

"He did not quite reach out because an iceberg hit them on the way and there are currently huge icebergs on the way to this agreement," he said. .

At the moment, people, goods and services cross the Irish land border freely.

The UK and Ireland are both part of the EU. Therefore, it is not necessary to check the products to make sure that they comply with customs regulations and standards.

If there is no agreement on Brexit, companies exporting goods to the EU "will be required to comply with customs procedures in the same way as when they export goods to a third country ", according to the British Government's opinion for the companies.

Much of this work would be done electronically, far from the border.

The instructions indicate that exporters will need to apply for an EORI (Registration and Identification of Economic Operator) number in the UK, consider using the services of a customs broker, submit export declarations HMRC and request the corresponding export licenses.

The Irish Revenue has issued similar notices to companies about new customs processes.

"In the post-Brexit era, the administrative and fiscal burden of traders involved can not be underestimated," says a consulting paper.

Under the rules of the World Trade Organization, countries can not normally discriminate against their trading partners without a formal trade agreement.

Thus, a Brexit without agreement would mean, for example, that Irish products should be treated in the same way as products from the United States or China.

"Give someone a special favor and you must do the same for all other WTO members," said the organization.

This reduces the ability of the UK and the Republic of Ireland to treat their products one with the other more favorably than those of other countries.

This is why the discussions on the Irish border are considered so important.