Brexit and the CTA… April 5, 2017
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
It is heartening to see the centrality – granted rhetorical so far – placed by the EU in its draft negotiating guidelines in regard to the Common Travel Area.
Of course it is early days, and the CTA is by no means the solution to all or many of the problems we now face on this island in the wake of Brexit, but it is a yardstick against which everything from here on can be measured.
Moreover the, again rhetorical so far, prominence of the Peace Process is no harm. As was noted by GW (IIRC) the efforts by the state here to push our interests to the fore has paid off. The Irish Times admits as much:
The language used about Ireland, and the specific references to the common travel area, the peace process and Border will be welcomed by the Government in Dublin, which has mounted a sustained diplomatic and political campaign in recent months to have Ireland’s special interests reflected in this document.
There’s been a lot of talk about how Ireland – this state – should bang the table and deliver ultimatums to the EU. I’ve always thought that unwise – not least because it is early days and Ireland is in no position to frame the responses of the UK in all this, but also because it is far too similar to the absurd and self-regarding approach of the British Brexit proponents.
Meanwhile, and this is from last week…
Though there are briefer references in the document to the position of British military bases in Cyprus and to Gibraltar, no other country is singled out in this fashion.
Amazing how that has gathered steam since. But perhaps inevitable.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
This sounds good:
“11. The Union has consistently supported the goal of peace and reconciliation enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, and continuing to support and protect the achievements, benefits and commitments of the Peace Process will remain of paramount importance. In view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, flexible and imaginative solutions will be required, including with the aim of avoiding a hard border, while respecting the integrity of the Union legal order. In this context, the Union should also recognise existing bilateral agreements and arrangements between the United Kingdom and Ireland which are compatible with EU law.”
But we could have done with a bit of this too:
“22. After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom.”
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“Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended the Government’s approach to Brexit negotiations against sharp criticism that he had failed to get the same right of veto on Northern Ireland that Spain got on Gibraltar…..
Mr Kenny rejected claims by Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald that the EU negotiating document dealing with the North and the peace process “is vague and conditional”.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/gibraltar-is-not-ireland-says-kenny-in-defence-of-brexit-stance-1.3036869
“Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has criticised the Irish government’s failure to ensure the European Council adopted a strong position on defending Irish interests in its text on Brexit, comparing it to the resolution in the European Parliament which was adopted today, Wednesday….
“The Spanish government ensured that Spain now essentially has a veto in Brexit negotiations over the question of Gibraltar, but the Irish government failed to secure a similar position over the question of the north of Ireland.”
http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/44130
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