Brussels will put up hard border in Northern Ireland if there’s a No Deal Brexit, Juncker admits
Boris Johnson may have promised there would be no hard border if a no-deal Brexit went through but the EU has said that’s not possible.
In a move that will cause fury, EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker said “yes” there would have to be border checks if Britain quit the bloc without an agreement in place at the end of October, according to The Sun.
It totally contradicts what other EU figures have said in the past, insisting there won’t be such a border.
Boris Johnson has promised he won’t put up any hard border in Northern Ireland, and wouldn’t risk a return to any kind of violence.
But Mr Juncker told Sky News: “We have to make sure that the interests of the European Union and of the internal market will be preserved.
“We have to preserve the health and the safety of our citizens.”
And he even claimed it would be the fault of Britain if the EU put a border up, saying: “Sometimes I have the impression that some people are forgetting about the history. But history will be back immediately.”
The thorny issue of the Northern Ireland border has paralysed Brexit talks and forced Theresa May out of office as she couldn’t pass her deal with the hated backstop in.
It would tie the whole of Britain to Brussels rules for years to come if we didn’t get a trade deal sorted.
Mr Juncker claimed earlier this week he wasn’t tied specifically to the backstop, and was open to ideas about how to solve the impasse.
The blistering comments came just days after Ireland’s deputy PM Simon Coveney said a No Deal would lead to civic unrest.
Tory Brexiteers yesterday slammed Mr Juncker for using the peace process to try to “up the ante” in the Brexit negotiations.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun: “I think Mr Juncker needs to have a few more early nights.”
Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary last year insisted the Government’s job in Ireland was to stop the border becoming “significantly harder”. Officials have repeatedly insisted the UK would not demand a border whatever the outcome of the Brexit talks.
No. 10 is trying to kill off the backstop — which would tie the UK to EU customs rules to avoid the return of customs posts between the Republic and the North.
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has urged the EU to sanction alternative arrangements — such as checks away from the border and trusted trader schemes.
The Government is looking at several plans to persuade Brussels to ditch the backstop and come to a last-minute deal.
One plan is to keep Northern Ireland tied to some EU rules on food if we leave without a deal on October 31, which would mean goods could flow between the North and Republic.
But Dominic Raab appeared to play down such an idea today, telling the BBC: “No, of course, that would be wrong.”
Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Boris is considering whether to put a possible Brexit deal in his Queen’s speech as part of plans to ram it through the Commons.
It would be a hugely controversial plan as it would force MPs who backed Boris’ new cash for schools, the NHS and police to get behind a deal too.
If MPs voted it down, traditionally the PM of the day would resign and call an election.
The Queen’s speech is in the diary for October 14 and the votes just days later — after a crunch EU summit when Boris hopes to finally secure a Brexit deal.
This story first appeared in The Sun and is republished with permission.
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