Brexit 2019 and Poland

In fairness Delph, Ireland should not have to facilitate Britain's exit from the EU. It's Britain who is leaving the EU, not Ireland, so Britain are the ones who are responsible for finding solutions to a problem which is of their making. The simple fact is that England, which is really what we're talking about here, never gave a thought to Northern Ireland throughout the Brexit campaign because Northern Ireland is a weird, sad, bizarre anachronism and Unionists are an embarrassment with their belligerent assertions of 'we're British'. The English don't think of them as British, if they ever think of them at all. That's why NI was completely overlooked.

Couldn't agree more with you. They've presented absolutely nothing in the way of a viable solution, and the DUP have more or less ensured that any talk of a customs line down the Irish Sea isn't happening. All this talk of "technology" is just nonsense, because they can't find a single place in the world where such a solution exists. I haven't read one sensible solution for the border, and the Irish government are absolutely right to hammer home the point that putting up barriers is against the Good Friday Agreement too.

My personal prediction is that we'll see something similar to the Norwegian border on the Irish government's side (for reference - goo.gl/uNTVkV - all buses/trucks have to stop, everyone else should decide if they want to stop or not, with random controls taking place) which shouldn't cause too many problems, especially as EU customs declarations are electronic these days. Smaller crossings will just revert to being open, but only for those travelling with personal goods, just as they were before 1993. Ireland won't have a choice in the event of no deal, but at least that won't inconvenience most people.

On the UK side? They don't seem to have a clue. The latest idiotic idea is that they'll allow everything into the country and it won't be checked (?!) for a year until they figure out what to do.

The problem is that some trucks go back and forth over the border several times a day and as one guy who works for a dairy said even a 15-minute delay at the border could play havoc with the schedule of his tanker and compliance with working-time directives.


I'm sorry Delph but random stopping of civilians going over the border by 'officials' makes Irish people very uncomfortable. The Norwegian border is from one country into another, a foreign country. Ireland is an island, it's one nation, one country that was artificially partitioned and it just feels WRONG. It's unnatural to be stopped in your own country and asked to account for your movements or the contents of your car or van. It will remind a lot of people, especially those in border counties of the bad old days and of the fact that we are still a divided nation, and will bring up a lot of old issues and hostilities.

Thankfully Juncker is made of the right stuff, and will send May away with zilch on Thursday; it will be dark days for the EU if he has any truck with the UK (no pun intended).

As to EU passports, just applied for mine! As with Farage, with his German passport, if you can't beat them.......:) :)

Why are you so anti British?
As The UK is currently completely aligned with The EU,in the short term,I don't see why any border checks are necessary either way.

In the long term a harder border between The UK and continental Europe may become necessary.
However,if we agree that a hard border between NI and Eire is never going to happen,the elephant in the room is what will happen with The border between Eire and continental Europe?

Nobody dares address the elephant in the room......??

What should happen? Maybe the Republic of Ireland will ditch the opt-out and become part of the Schengen area, and the U.K. would be forced to establish a hard border between Eire and Northern Ireland?

That's never going to happen.
Next?

That's unlikely at the moment, to say the least. The ROI doesn't want Schengen. There's a border now with minimal controls; this is unlikely to change, not least because the most populated part of Ireland, in the north, voted strongly for remain, because the Good Friday Agreement is binding and because no party or tendency there wan't stronger border controls.

How would that help??? As the UK is not in Schengen, it would mean passport control between Ireland and Northern Ireland!!


Nobody is going to do anything that would create a hard border and as Jon says, Ireland has no plans to join Schengen. That would mean giving up the Common Travel Area and that's not on. The British people wouldn't want to give that up any more than the Irish would, especially the significant number of British people who live in Ireland. The whole Britain/Ireland relationship is a complex one. Our two cultures and communities are woven together in a unique way that cannot be separated by Brexit.

So true.
So will there have to be a hard border between Eire and continental Europe as there will have to be between The UK and continental Europe?

Looks like they will have to call in President Trump to get it straightened out.
Brexiteers demand Theresa May ask Trump to solve Brexit talks.
LONDON - Theresa May has been told to enlist Donald Trump in a bid to save her troubled Brexit talks.
Conservative MPs, who oppose May's EU exit deal, want the prime minister to approach the president and request that he lobby the Irish government in an attempt to force them to give ground in negotiations.

LOL well he is the self proclaimed king of the deal so sorting out a 400 year old problem in 4 weeks should be right up his alley. He is not doing much else these days - plenty of golf and watching TV.

How is he going to force Ireland to do something that threatens their status ?

I don't think it is May asking him, rather the nutjob Brexit MPs. They should sort out their own mess as they caused the problem in the first place.

You underestimate Donald Trump. I think he can in 4 days do what others do in 400 years!

The Guy has gotta relax once in awhile ya know.
Speaking of relaxing Presidents, perhaps you would like to tell us what your President Duda has done lately that has any excitement to it.
Meanwhile my Commander and Chief will be protecting your country with our military. (My tax dollars)
So to straighten the Brexit out in four weeks is a walk in the park for Trump.
Ireland is just going to have to face the food chain fact and realize such a tiny country should be appreciative to ride the shirttail of England at all.

I dont think Duda is a golfer but i do remember him tooling around Jurata on his jetski during the week of the big demos about the constitutonal court !

I guess he spends most of the time reading novels on the verandah and waiting for JK to call with instructions

I think both Reagan and LBJ used to schedule nap time mid afternoon - In fact I remember Ronnie making some joke about a budget proposal giving him any sleepless afternoons

And Teflon Trump only requires four to five hours of sleep per night with no daytime naps.
After dealing with wicked Putin, crazy Iran, China, N. Korea missiles, Saudi war, Afgan war, Yeman war and being responsible for the most powerful military in the world

that is spread out in 40% of the countries in the world and dealing with the mess we have at our southern border I think the King Kong deserves a around of golf occasionally.

That is why when you Eurps slam Trump non stop I have to laugh at you ignorant/jealous fools.
The leaders in the E.U. are clueless to what stress is with their minute responsibilities.
The U.K. is smart leaving the German led E.U. with what little bit it has left.
Look how the people of France are protesting Macron for letting Germany do what they did to France.
Macron is an atta boy and is actually empowering German led Europe.
You guys have one hell of a mess that needs some serious attention before you have an all out civil war.
This is why you need Trump who skips and chews gum at the same time to lend you a hand.

I meant the Afghanistan war and the Syria war not the Saudi war.
You pinheads get me all worked up sometimes/

Couldn't agree more!

It's a good job we never took on The Euro,that would have made it even more difficult than it is.
Poland beware......do not join The Eurozone.

If there is a Brexit .....
England and the United States will be relying on each other even more then they do now.
We need each other.
The Eurozone would be more then happy to include Poland if there was a Polexit.
Do you Brits agree with that ?

Trust me,there will be a Brexit,it is what form it takes that is the question.
UK and USA have always been close and hopefully we will get closer.
If Poland ever left The EU they could not be in The Eurozone and I think adopting The Euro would be disastrous for Poland.

Donald Tusk has confirmed that the backstop remains as it is and is not up for negotiation. Good old Donald :)) Unless the UK decides to extend Article 50, it looks like a no deal Brexit.

Donald Tusk is one great Pole, but do they appreciate him? He is wayyyyy too intelligent for the British Tories and anyone who puts one up their kilts is alright by me. Watching their fake outrage is an absolute delight.

Good. The EU-27 are behind Ireland and that's what matters.

Even if a hard border kicks off the troubles again?

And what about that hard border between Eire and mainland Europe......you are all burying your heads in the sand over that one....

It's a problem of the UK's making. They haven't got a clue how to avoid it, and their proposals are all utter untested nonsense.

The solution is simple: a referendum in Northern Ireland asking if they want to remain part of the Customs Union.

No,the solution is to ask Eire which is the most important to them.
The UK or Europe.
The simple solution is Eirexit.

Why would Ireland leave something that has been hugely beneficial for them? They were a poor agrarian society in 1973, they're now one of the wealthiest countries in the world. They use the second major currency in the world, and many EU companies are based there, including now with the news that Barclays intend to divert a huge amount of cash there. When Brexit turns into a shambles as it will, even more companies will leave London for Dublin.


europarl.europa.eu/ireland/en/news-press/eurobarometer-85-per-cent-support-for-eu-in-ireland

85% support the EU in Ireland. It's the UK that has to come to terms with the fact that they agreed a deal with the EU and now they're trying to tear that deal up.

To avoid a hard border with Northern Ireland.....
There are other ways around it,a hard border with continental europe is one....

But why would Ireland put up barriers with the rest of the EU? It would be completely illogical to do that in a society that overwhelmingly supports EU membership and all the benefits that it has. They're quite happy being able to export Irish products without formality. They don't want to 'take back control' or any of that nonsense.

This is exactly the mentality that's causing the EU to destroy the UK in negotiations. The UK is demanding unrealistic concessions, yet they don't seem to understand that they're negotiating from a position of weakness. The hilarity of India demanding a huge increase in visas for Indians in exchange for free trade really highlighted the weakness of the UK in today's world.