Thread by @hhesterm

On the "who would accept a border in their country" line that is, again, making the rounds. (thread)

It is a line that - take in and of itself - has a lot of appeal. It sounds counterintuitive. I have seen a famous colleague use it, because it appealed to him. /2

But look at it in detail and it becomes more complicated. When a UK politician said with a view to the US "which country would accept agricultural checks between parts of it" - one could not point out that, well, the US accepts them, because there are some between states. /3

And, of course, there have always been some checks between GB and NI, because of geography. It's a different island - and it makes sense to locate defenses against disease right there. /4

As to customs, there are and have been examples of customs borders inside a country. Büsingen, part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, is (by treaty) part of the Swiss, not the German customs territory. /5

Until 2019 the same was true - informally - for the Italian community of Campione d'Italia. /6

Now of course - the situation is different from NI. They are but small parts of the country and their geography justifies a different treatment. /7

But while you read and I write that sentence you see how suddenly things become more nuanced. "They are but small parts of the country and their geography justifies a different treatment" - well... /8

Now I do not take a position for now on what detail will have to be done how to ensure a "good" approach to NI. I simply have not discussed with enough officials, enough people affected. But one thing seems clear .../9

The details of a solution will by necessity be complex. And I hope we won't make one impossible by intuitive - but even on the basic facts problematic - slogans.