1/
Brexiters say "where does the GFA mention the EU?"
Nowhere does the US Constitution mention "privacy", but it is assumed to be a constitutional right for all Americans. It is a non-enumerated concept.
EU membership underpins the very BASIS of the GFA, co-sovereignty.
2/
The GFA allowed someone from NI to be Irish, or British, or both. This normally could not work, but because both parties are subject to the same rules, same customs area, same Travel Area, it is possible. EU membership underpins the first two of these.
3/
The GFA also explicitly requires several new institutions that can only work if both countries are in the the same CU and SM:
A) The "North South Ministerial Council", covering agriculture; education; environment; health; tourism; and transport.
B) The "Implementation Bodies"
4/
These bodies:
Waterways Ireland
Food Safety Promotion Board
Special EU Programmes Body
North/South Language Body
Trade and Business Development Body
Foyle Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission
Whether EU is mentioned or not these REQUIRE IRL & NI to be in the same CU & SM
5/ And finally: areas of cross-border co-operation on the island of Ireland.
Many are entirely dependent on membership of the EU (or at least the SM and CU). All are partially dependent on EU membership, at one level or another.
(There are also cross-cutting Issues such as:...
6/
...
-data protection including personal data & info sharing
-public procurement
-state aid rules
-H & S & employ't frameworks re. personnel issues in Implementation Bodies
-access to EU funding
-provision & access to services
-professional qualifications
-Common Travel Area)
7/
"The GFA barely mentions the EU" they say.
When you are having your house repainted or windows replaced, the contract might not even mention the existing foundations; that doesn't mean they can be removed with no effect.
8/
So the next time a Brexiter says "border tech" (Borg tech) or Max-fac (max-crap) or Blockchain (bog chain), show them this thread.
Brexit and the GFA is about far more than sheep or tariffs or cameras on poles.
"co-sovereignty" is not quite right: in NI, the UK sovereignty is REAL and the Irish version is like a perfect CGI. A virtual reality sovereignty. But the virtual reality software (the GFA) can only run on an EU-membership OS ... while Brexit rolls the UK back to DOS 1.0
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