My Authors
Read all threads
The EU has written twice to the UK requesting an Office in N.Ireland 📝

As @tconnellyRTE reported, the UK said No 🙅‍♂️

@DPhinnemore & I looked into it.

Turns out ***SURPRISE!! *** it's more complicated than you'd think.

And ALOT is riding on it ...

1/7
rte.ie/news/ireland/2…
The leaders of 4 NI parties wrote a joint letter to @10DowningStreet urging the UK reconsider.

They described the rejection as "a breach of trust at this critical stage".

And pointed out that the #Protocol gives the EU a "right to be present" in NI.

2/7
belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-…
Sure enough, Article 12 of #Protocol is pretty explicit:
☑️EU wants a technical presence
☑️UK committed to enabling it.

As far as EU is concerned, this is pay-off for giving NI free access to Single Market.

But now UK is demurring cos seems bit of an ouch for sovereignty.
3/7
And it is no small request.
The scope of Union law applying to NI covers customs, SPS, safety standards, product composition...

EU #Brexit preparedness notices show it will treat GB quite differently to NI in all sorts of areas.

Shit's getting real.
4/7
ec.europa.eu/info/european-…
So EU 'technical' presence in NI is a legal obligation...
But we don't yet know what form it wd take.

Anyway for the time being it's primarily a political football ⚽

If UK doesn't play ball in implementing Protocol, EU won't want to commit to another game via a UK-EU FTA.

5/7
So the stakes are high.

But the push need not be all in one direction.

UK cd give EU technical presence but ask for more in return.

E.g. EU office in NI cd have a diplomatic function to increase EU awareness of NI needs.
(Bear in mind Protocol exists due to NI complexity)

6/7
All this is explained in our, erm, Explainer hosted on @UKandEU.

Take a look for more detail + bit of a headsup on the issue that may well prove a big stumbling block for the next set of UK & EU negotiations...

Yup, that'll be N.Ireland 👋
#awkward

7/7
ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/an-…
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Katy Hayward

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!