简体中文
How the Irish border will work once Britain leaves the European Union has become one of the most pressing issues in the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
The Irish republic will remain an EU member, which means that after Brexit the border with Northern Ireland will become the only EU border within the UK.
May: Find inspiration from US-Canada border
British Prime Minister Theresa May told lawmakers on Monday that the government is looking at the US-Canada border to see if similar arrangements could be applied to the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to deliver a speech on new housing developments, in central London, March 5, 2018.
May said the British and Irish governments both agreed there should be no post-Brexit hard border on the island of Ireland.
"We are looking at those, including the border between the United States and Canada for lessons that could be applied to Ireland," May said.
May told members of Parliament she was confident Britain can reach an agreement with Brussels about a future trading arrangement, adding that a deal was in the interests of both sides.
Opposition: May failed to offer real solution
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said May had failed to bring clarity to Brexit talks, adding the Brexit proposals she announced last Friday were barely papering over the cracks.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, speaks to the public during an election campaign visit in the center of Crewe, April 22, 2017.
Saying the last 20 months since the EU referendum had been wasted, Corbyn said the arrogance of some of the members of May's front-bench ministers who said Brexit would be the easiest deal in history has turned into debilitating infighting.
Corbyn told members of Parliament that "the prime minister's speech on Friday promised to unite the nation, but it barely papered over the cracks in her own party."
He said May had failed to offer a real solution over Northern Ireland. Instead, he added, May had rehashed an already discredited government idea to use a mix of technology and goodwill to ensure no hard border In Ireland.
Irish PM: US-Canada border not applicable
“That is definitely not a solution that we can possibly entertain,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told a news conference after meeting his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel in Dublin.
“I visited the US border in August and I saw an armored border with physical infrastructure, customs posts and people in uniform with arms and dogs.”
Irish Prime minister Leo Varadkar delivers a speech as part of a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, January 17, 2018.
Varadkar reiterated that his preference was to retain the current seamless border through a new, deep relationship between the EU and UK and was also committed to examining specific British proposals, but only if they are feasible.
If that is not possible, he said the “very clear draft legal provision” to implement a backstop allowing the EU to regulate Northern Ireland’s trade would be triggered.
“For the moment I can’t tell you what I think about Theresa May’s plans, I want to see them, I want to read them. For the moment I don’t know what the plans are from the UK,” Varadkar said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
