New Brexit negotiations began Friday between the European Union and the United Kingdom in an attempt to avoid a trade war over the contentious Northern Ireland borders.
Negotiators for the UK and the EU met for talks focusing on trade between the two. The UK has complained about difficulties in implementing checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and the deadlock over what to do with Northern Ireland has led to a serious threat of Brexit deal breakdowns.
The nature of the Northern Ireland border has been a huge point of contention for both sides. Border politics are at the root of the issues. While Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales, it does not include Northern Ireland. However, Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom. And is separated by a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is firmly a part of the European Union.
In October, the EU’s European Commission proposed to adapt parts of the trade deal to make it easier for border checks. Since then, EU officials have voiced concerns that the UK is not showing any willingness to negotiate, pointing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government as forcing a standoff rather than working through the issues.
Solutions to the problem are vastly different between the two sides. The UK has said that all checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland should end, and instead, authorities should trust businesses to inform them if products will stay in Northern Ireland or continue onto the Republic of Ireland.
But the EU says they can’t simply trust businesses will keep them informed about trade flows, and believe data is required to track it. No matter what, the Commission said it does want to significantly reduce the amount of paperwork that businesses are forced to comply with.
The EU is fearful that goods below the bloc’s standards could potentially enter the single market through Northern Ireland.
The UK also wants to end the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over how their trade deals work, but the EU firmly has stated it will not be caving on this.
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