Thread by @kevanjameswrite

1/ I went to Dublin from London recently.
With no passport and no problem.
I came back to London from Dublin.
With no passport and no problem.
That's because there are no borders between the RoI and the UK.
Hasn't been since the 1920s.
Just thought I'd mention it....

2/There are no borders because the UK, RoI, the Channel Islands (which are not part of the UK and not in the EU) and the Isle of Man form the Common Travel Area (CTA)
between them.
So no passports required and no border or customs control.
(still just mentioning it)

3/ So what's the problem?
The problem is that goods and people can go from, say, France to Ireland and then sneak into the UK through the back door.
Except...
The RoI is not a signatory to the Schengen Agreement
So you need a passport...
(still with me?)

4/ The 26 Schengen countries: Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden and Switzerland
Spot the odd ones out

5/ No, not the RoI. So to go between any EU country and Ireland, you need a passport.
Except to/from the UK.
So, again...what's the problem?
A little imagination, a little vision, a little 'yes-we-can' and less 'no-we-can't' and the 'problem' would be sorted.

6/ And also less posturing from pointless politicians...
Spotted the oddities in the Schengen list yet?
If not they are listed in my book Comments of a Common Man £9.99 from Amazon
(sorry couldn't resist the plug...really though, go buy it. Its very good)