Ulster’s Fight, Ulster’s Rights? Brexit, Northern Ireland and the Threat to British-Irish Relations

In the coming Brexit negotiations, London should acknowledge Northern Ireland’s unique relationship with the EU. A distinctive EU status for Northern Ireland, committing London and the 27 to maintaining many of the EU’s structural and Ulster-specific programmes would help to limit the fallout from the UK’s exit. In the event that the EU and the UK fail to agree quickly on a comprehensive free trade agreement, Brussels could work with London to create a specific regime for Irish and Northern Irish goods and services (including and beyond the exposed agri-food sector), exempting them from tariffs and most customs checks if they remain on the island of Ireland.

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 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/

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/

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/

---