Re: The Brexit disaster
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 1:40 pm
Bang on ma man!
Reefer...real name Leafer
Reefer...real name Leafer
Talking Canucks Hockey Since 1996
https://canuckscorner.com/forums/
Truly is. Huge win for Putin.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news ... -j6ntwvhllBritain faces shortages of fuel, food and medicine, a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard border with Ireland and rising costs in social care in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to an unprecedented leak of government documents that lay bare the gaps in contingency planning.
The documents, which set out the most likely aftershocks of a no-deal Brexit rather than worst-case scenarios, have emerged as the UK looks increasingly likely to crash out of the EU without a deal.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... top-brexitThe internal document seen by the Guardian states it was “incorrect” to suggest the people of Northern Ireland would have no influence over EU laws that applied to them, pointing to provisions in the Brexit agreement. Officials had already strongly rejected Johnson’s claim that the backstop was anti-democratic, pointing to the fact Northern Ireland had voted to remain in the EU and non-unionist parties were in favour of the backstop.
Johnson’s claim that it would be possible for two separate legal and economic jurisdictions to exist on the island of Ireland with an open border was judged “misleading” as “EU law provides the common framework needed to enable frictionless trade between member states today”.
While the EU has said it is ready to look at alternative arrangements to the backstop, officials have stressed that no such options exist today anywhere in the world.
Neale Richmond, an Irish senator, said Johnson’s claim that the backstop posed a threat to the Good Friday agreement was “very disappointing language”.
“The negotiations ended in November,” he told BBC Radio 4. “The British government in good faith agreed the withdrawal agreement. And the backstop isn’t impossible to get out of; that is simply misleading. However, it cannot be unilaterally exited by one state. What’s the point of the backstop if one side can simply just rip it up?”
He ruled out a time limit on the backstop. “It is an insurance policy to protect a very fragile peace deal, therefore it needs the buy-in of both sides, because both the British and Irish government are co-guarantors of that Good Friday agreement.”
An Irish government source played down the significance of Johnson’s letter, calling it a “disappointing” rehash of London’s demand to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement – a demand that Dublin and the EU would continue to reject.
“The letter just reiterates the British government’s position. The EU position remains clear. The withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated and the backstop is part of the withdrawal agreement,” the source said.
The backstop was consistent with the Good Friday agreement and did not undermine the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, an analysis that London shared during and after negotiations, the source said. “It’s disappointing that the British government cannot stand over the commitment it gave in 2017 and 2018.”
Guy Verhofstadt, who chairs the European parliament’s Brexit steering group, tweeted that he did not see any majority in the British parliament to remove the backstop. “It is a vital insurance policy, negotiated in good faith and supported by the people of the island of Ireland. The time for bluster and political blame games is fast running out.”