Brexit Negotiations: The Irish border question

The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and how it will operate, is one of the three main areas of discussion in the first phase of Brexit negotiations.

This paper sets out the different UK and EU negotiating positions as well as how they both pledge to honour the Good Friday Agreement, and what this pledge commits both sides to. It looks at how the Northern Irish devolved government is inputting into the talks, and how the confidence and supply deal between the Conservative party and the DUP might impact on the negotiations.

This paper explores how people will move between the two countries, and how the Common Travel Area might be maintained. It also looks at the complexities of avoiding a 'hard border', the stated position of both the EU and the UK, while still adhering to EU rules on moving goods between itself and countries outside the Single Market and Customs Union.

To find further information sources in ESO on this issue click here.

ESO: Background information: Ulster's Fight, Ulster's Rights? Brexit, Northern Ireland and the Threat to British-Irish Relations http://www.europeansources.info/record/ulsters-fight-ulsters-rights-brexit-northern-ireland-and-the-threat-to-british-irish-relations/

ESO: Background information: Hard Borders of the Mind: Brexit, Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement http://www.europeansources.info/record/hard-borders-of-the-mind-brexit-northern-ireland-and-the-good-friday-agreement/

ESO: Background information: Northern Ireland and Brexit: Struggling and divided over ‘what next’ http://www.europeansources.info/record/northern-ireland-and-brexit-struggling-and-divided-over-what-next/

ESO: Background information: Northern Ireland illustrates the threat Brexit poses for the UK’s political stability http://www.europeansources.info/record/northern-ireland-illustrates-the-threat-brexit-poses-for-the-uks-political-stability/

Blog: LSE Brexit, 10.07.17: A hard Irish border is quite possible, a frictionless one is an oxymoron http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/07/10/a-hard-irish-border-is-possible-a-frictionless-one-is-an-oxymoron/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

The Guardian, 21.06.17: How does the Irish border affect the Brexit talks? https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/21/how-does-the-irish-border-affect-the-brexit-talks

InFacts: Expert View, 09.08.17: Ireland’s Brexit border: a masterclass in fecklessness https://infacts.org/irelands-brexit-border-masterclass-fecklessness/#

EurActiv: Tag: Irish Border http://www.euractiv.com/topics/irish-border/

Blog: LSE Brexit, 20.10.17: The Irish border is not a technical issue but a political one http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/10/20/the-irish-border-is-not-a-technical-issue-but-a-political-one/

ESO: Background information: Brexit: European Commission publishes guiding principles on Ireland and Northern Ireland (European Commission, September 2017) http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-european-commission-publishes-guiding-principles-on-ireland-and-northern-ireland/

ESO: Key Source: The impact of Brexit in Ireland http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-impact-of-brexit-in-ireland/

ESO: Background information: Northern Ireland and Ireland: position paper (UK, August 2017) http://www.europeansources.info/record/northern-ireland-and-ireland-position-paper/

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