Border return would be ‘dangerous’, warns Italian minister

The imposition of a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland would be "very negative and dangerous", the Italian foreign minister has said.

On a visit to Dublin on Tuesday, Paolo Gentiloni said he was confident the introduction of land border controls in Ireland after Brexit could be averted and suggested a way could be found to maintain the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain.

"We hope and are confident that the British referendum will not have the consequence of raising new frontiers, new barriers, new borders between Ireland and Northern Ireland, " Mr Gentiloni said after a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan.

“This would be a really very, very negative and dangerous consequence of the referendum. I am confident that together we can avoid this.”

Seeking to allay the Government’s concerns about the potentially damaging impact of Brexit on links with Britain, he added the looming “redefinition” of the relationship between the UK and EU should not mean that longstanding bilateral deals such as the Common Travel Area must expire.

Mr Gentiloni's soothing tone contrasted with remarks by German chancellor Angela Merkel who, after talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Berlin just hours earlier, declined to be drawn on what influence she believed Irish concerns would have on any final Brexit deal.

After a working lunch, both leaders agreed at a press conference that it was difficult to know how to proceed until Britain’s new government said how it envisioned future relations with the EU.

Specific worries

“The Irish voice will be heard as much as anyone else’s, its concerns are specific but they are absolutely important, particularly for peace in the region,” said Dr Merkel.

“The details will have to be clarified – we will talk about this in friendship with each other.”

The German leader said she understood Irish concerns, particularly over preserving the free travel area, dating back to 1922. But it was impossible to give guarantees over how these concerns would influence talks, she said.

“Naturally it is up to the new British government when its [leave] application is filed but it is important that, with this application, we get clarity over what relationship Britain wants to build up with the EU because this will affect talks.”

Mr Kenny used his Berlin appearance to underline once again that Ireland would continue to remain an active EU and euro zone member, and to point out the advantages that Ireland would have with its guaranteed future in the single market.

At the same time, he said 200,000 Irish jobs depended on exports across the Irish Sea and cited studies predicting that the island of Ireland would be most adversely affected by Brexit. “We don’t want to see a European border running from Dundalk to Derry,” he said, “but there are implications of goods moving from a European country to a non-European country and it is certainly an issue we will need to focus on.”

Mr Kenny warned that access to the single Europe market, if sought by Britain, "would come at a particular price . . . with the four freedoms having to be accepted".

Lack of clarity

On their way to Berlin, Irish officials knew that a lingering lack of clarity over London’s intentions towards the EU would prevent any major political progress in talks with Dr Merkel.

Visit over, they were happy that the flying visit had real diplomatic value: flagging Irish concerns with a woman who – regardless of Mr Kenny’s own political fate – will play a key role in upcoming Brexit talks.

Berlin officials said the two leaders – the longest-serving heads of government in Europe – got on very well at their lunch and that the German leader and her officials are mindful of Irish concerns. But at this early stage, Berlin is wary of being seen to extend any privileged status to any other EU country, for fear of a chorus from other countries – particularly others who, like Ireland, have large population groups in Britain.

At his press conference in Dublin, Mr Gentiloni, while careful to stress that the decision on when to trigger formal withdrawal talks lay with the British government, said Italy wished to avoid a long period of uncertainty. "I think it would be very negative for Europe to have a long period of waiting, of uncertainty," he said.

“I’m aware of the fact that the new UK prime minister will be in charge from tomorrow, and I hope that in the next weeks this should make possible this decision.”