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EU Commission announces this morning it has 'completed' its no deal planning and warns it is 'increasingly likely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without a deal on 12 April'.
Commission says no deal 'will obviously cause significant disruption for citizens and businesses' and 'the EU will be required to immediately apply its rules and tariffs at its borders with the UK' [including in NI]. 'These controls could cause significant delays at the border.'
Commission says Brits travelling to the EU would 'be subject to additional checks when crossing borders into EU'. It says despite 'considerable preparations at ports and airports to ensure that these checks are done as efficiently as possible, they may nevertheless cause delays'.
On additional checks on British tourists after no deal, the Commission planning states: 'In particular, border guards may ask you to provide information, for instance on the duration and purpose of your stay as well as on your means of subsistence during your stay.'
EU official says France, Netherlands & Belgium have between them hired 2,000 new customs officers to cope with no deal. 20 new border posts have been built in those 3 plus Ireland, Spain & Denmark. 'All States are confident they'll have necessary measures in place by March 29.'
Asked will there be checkpoints at Irish border, EU official says: 'Controls have to be done where they belong but doesn't mean we'd want to see visible infrastructure. We're working v closely with Irish authorities to try & perform controls away from border if at all possible.'
I asked official in which case why the backstop? 'In no deal there'd be disruptions to supply chains & trade. We're working with Irish authorities so controls can be least intrusive possible but it's still a situation which is fundamentally different to the Withdrawal Agreement.'
So in nutshell Commission is saying there will be a form of hard border on island of Ireland if there's no deal. They're just working with Dublin to make checks least intrusive possible. But that outcome doesn't fulfil EU-UK commitment to keep it fully open whereas backstop does.
