Brussels offers to reduce Northern Ireland’s physical customs checks

The EU’s Brexit chief has said he could reduce physical customs checks across the Irish Sea to just a few lorries a day, as he expressed hope that new British prime minister Liz Truss was ready to do a deal over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.

Maroš Šefčovič said the trade border would be “invisible” under European Commission plans — provided the UK gave EU officials real-time data on trade movements.

“If the data are downloaded into the system, when the goods are put on the ferry from Britain...I believe that we can remotely process them while sailing to Northern Ireland,” the European Commission vice-president told the Financial Times in an interview.

[ Dublin and Brussels wait for signals from Truss on Northern Ireland protocol ]

[ Fintan O'Toole: Britain is becoming ungovernable and Truss will not last long ]

Physical checks would only be made “when there is reasonable suspicion of...illegal trade smuggling, illegal drugs or dangerous toys or poisoned food” — typically a “couple of lorries a day”.

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He said there was almost no difference between the UK demand for “no checks” and the EU’s offer of “minimum checks, done in an invisible manner”.

The UK agreed that Northern Ireland would remain in the EU single market for goods when it left the EU, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

This requires goods leaving Britain for Northern Ireland to have customs declarations while food and animals are subject to health checks.

Ms Truss has said this is an unacceptable interference in the UK’s domestic market. Unionists in Northern Ireland say it has eroded their ties to the UK and the stand-off has led to political paralysis in the region.

The Democratic Unionist party has refused to enter the devolved assembly in Belfast until the Northern Ireland protocol is scrapped. Under the current rules, fresh elections to the assembly must be called if the deadlock is not broken by October 28th.

Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP leader, told the FT “there is the prospect of renewed negotiations”. “I think that would require a change of stance from the EU. They need to recognise that if we are to arrive at a solution it requires them to accept, and respect, the integrity of the UK, its internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it.”

Talks between Brussels and London fizzled out in February. Mr Šefčovič said he was willing to restart but only based on the proposals he made last October to cut checks.

Mr Šefčovič said he was “encouraged” by Ms Truss’s statement on Wednesday that she wanted a negotiated settlement. “We stand ready to work in an open and constructive and intensive way,” he said.

“I also would prefer to work around the tight deadlines because I am fully aware of the dates which will be coming by the end of October [for elections].”

He also pointed out that next April marked 25 years of the Belfast Agreement. “If the first 25 years were about peace, I think that the next 25 years should be about peace and prosperity for Northern Ireland,” he said. Access to the UK and EU single market gives businesses there a unique advantage.

Mr Šefčovič said he was working with the US, which helped broker the Belfast Agreement, to bring potential investors to Northern Ireland next year to show the benefits of the protocol.

“They would definitely welcome certainty, predictability and the fact that they would be manufacturing or distributing the goods for 500mn quite wealthy customers.”

The Biden administration last week warned Truss not to undo the protocol.

Ms Truss said she was willing to negotiate but only if the EU gave in to all UK demands. She has introduced legislation to override the protocol and effectively end checks on goods the UK deems are destined only for Northern Ireland.

That has led to seven legal actions by the EU against London for failing to enforce the protocol and share data. It has also held up a British application to remain in the EU’s Horizon scientific research programme.

“We need to see that the most important agreements are now respected before we start to negotiate another one,” Mr Šefčovič said.

He also said the UK needed to guarantee funding for Horizon. London has started a complaint under the post-Brexit trade agreement between the two sides about being excluded from the programme.

Mr Šefčovič added that he could quickly resolve another dispute around a 25 per cent EU duty charged on British steel sent to Northern Ireland. This is because tariff-free import quotas to the EU have been exhausted.

He said he had asked for details of what products have historically been sent to Northern Ireland, where from and in what quantities. “It could be resolved very, very quickly if we get the input from our UK counterparts.” - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022