Brexit; The Treachery in the Irish Backstop
As Brexit lurches from deadlock to deadlock on a no deal or deal plan to exit the European Union, hope does not spring eternal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has committed Britain to leave the EU by 31 October probably under a no deal, a tall order in a country rife with fractures of division on whether to leave or stay.
British MP’s from different parties passed a law forcing government to seek a third Brexit, so in the event nothing happens by 31 October, more delays.
Opposition MPs thwarted Johnson’s quest for an election saying they will not back his call until a law aimed at blocking a no deal Brexit is a done deal.
It has been three years since the referendum on whether to exit or remain in the European Union, the exit vote won by 52% to 48%, in a 72 percent or 30 million turnout poll, and so Brexit was born.
The withdrawal from the EU, scheduled to take place on 29 March 2019, with the date delayed twice, after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered article 50, the formal process to expedite Brexit.
In addition, British MP’s rejected a compromise involving the UK and the EU three times.
Ms. May was forced to resign after failing to complete the job she started and one wonders if the same fate awaits Boris Johnson on the horizon.
The Brexit Deal or No Deal
The Brexit Deal consists of a binding withdrawal agreement setting out terms for the ‘divorce’ process with a no deal a non- binding declaration about the nature of the future relationship between the UK and EU.
A Brexit deal may cover areas such as;
The rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU
How much money the UK will pay the EU
The backstop for the Irish border
The Irish Backstop Will Thwart Brexit even if it does HAPPEN
Billed as an insurance policy of sorts the backstop is part of the draft withdrawal agreement negotiated between Theresa May’s government and the EU.
Under the draft withdrawal agreement, the UK would enter a “transition period” after Brexit (currently timetabled to be 31 October 2019).
During this period (which would last until, at the latest, December 2022) Britain would still be in the single market and customs union, and continue to trade with the EU as it does now.
The plan was for the government to negotiate a future relationship with the EU, including trade rules, during this transition period.
A sticking point for many conservatives is currently there are no border posts, barriers or checks on people or goods crossing the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an independent country and EU member.
The EU backstop idea apparently was a way to ensure nothing changes when the UK leaves the EU.
The “Irish backstop” will kick in at the end of the transition period if the UK and EU failed to negotiate a future trade deal that keeps the Irish border open.
Here is the catch, without a comprehensive trade deal in place the UK will technically remain inside the Customs Union with Northern Ireland also obliged to conform to some rules of the single market.
This makes it conditional and iffy, no pressure Britain, with delays in reaching a deal allowing a dodgy situation to drag on indefinitely, even risking becoming permanent to the UK’s disadvantage.
An amendment to the EU’s ‘Irish backdrop’ by a British legal weasel was withdrawn in March, probably just as well.
Basically it came down to ‘trusting the EU to negotiate in good faith,’ now that sounds like an amendment worthy of wiping your backside with clearly not worth the paper it is written on.
Prime minster, Boris Johnson, last week declared both the backstop and withdrawal agreement to be “dead” so it looks like he is pushing for no deal.
According to a report by the Independent, the Brexit secretary claims the EU has set Britain a test it cannot meet with the demand to see a replacement for the Irish backstop.
Secretary Stephen Barclay said the UK needs another year to come up with a new policy for the Northern Island border.
The British news outlet insists Barclay is essentially requesting the EU drop the demand for a backstop in the withdrawal agreement hoping to proceed to the transition without it.
Meanwhile, with Johnson hamstrung on all fronts he advised and got the Queen to suspend parliament for 5 weeks but now has to wait for a ruling from the UK’s supreme court on the constitutional merits of his move, a decision expected early next week.
In a major boost for embattled Johnson, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that a Brexit deal is possible by the end of October.
Mm we will see.
The Battle for A Nation
The fight is one of national sovereignty vs globalism and there is this suspicion that in the case of Brexit the latter will win.
It is a given that any EU member will have a difficult time extracting itself from the clutches of Brussels and the UK is no exception.
The EU obviously wants to discourage other members from ‘getting any ideas’ so Brexit has to be the test-case, an example of the degree of difficulty they face.
Britain’s pro-EU establishment and their supporters had three years in which to wage a protracted anti-Brexit campaign that has not been without successes.
In fact, it has verged on the downright absurd at times, with things like sexually transmitted diseases blamed on a dearth of foreign health workers because … Brexit, food shortages in the pipeline for the same reason, even the Wimbledon tennis tournament impacted by ‘no strawberries’ this year, so dam you Brexiteers.
Face it, vested interests are determined to ensure Brexit does not happen.
When the British parliament’s fulltime job is to frustrate the will of the people the battle is pretty much lost.
The best way to sum up Brexit’s EU dilemma is to borrow some lyrics from the hit-song ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles.
“We are just prisoners here by our own device.”
Then followed by — ;
“You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave”.
Latest; Labor MP’s will make a new bid to force a second referendum after their first attempt failed.
They are confident the motion will pass this time.
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