Thread by @RaoulRuparel

Always welcome ideas & solutions in this space. Certainly worth considering. Two big questions in my mind 1) on where the border actually is under this approach 2) on enforcement. Short thread 1/

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1417466220421517312

The approach sets out mutual enforcement of each others rules for things being sold into the other party. But what counts as an export? Is it goods moving from GB to NI or from NI to RoI? If the latter then this amounts to a big shift back to potentially having a land border 2/

Hard to see EU agreeing to this shift, also takes us back in discussions to 2017 essentially. It may be argued no border is needed, but there will inevitably need to be some sense of what counts as an export & where checks might take place. Which brings me on to enforcement...3/

Its hard to imagine this can be done without any physical enforcement, again EU very unlikely to accept that. So where would this take place? If at a border, then we are back into the same problems. If somewhere else (e.g. point of departure)...4/

Then we are into big questions of logistical/technical scope (e.g. can every farm be checked?) & significant rewriting of EU rules on customs, agri & industrial regs about when/where enforcement takes place (contrary to authors it doesn't retain EU reg autonomy in this sense) 5/

Finally bringing the two issues together is what happens if rules are found not to be adhered to? What retaliatory action can be taken? If the border is essentially between NI & RoI then any reaction will essentially mean the creation of a land border 6/

All in all, a lots of unanswered questions & I'd find it hard to imagine EU would entertain this sort of approach. But if they do, then I'd be all for exploring how to make it work! 7/ ENDS