'No Hardening Of The Border In Ireland' - SDLP

The desperate attempts by the British Government to move on to Phase 2 of the Brexit negotiations without providing information on the Irish border issue must be rejected, according to the SDLP.

Leader Colum Eastwood said negotiations can only be reached if there is "sufficient clarity" that there will be no hardening of the border in Ireland.

He said: "This week it was telling that this chaotic British Government focussed more on the exact time and date of their departure from the EU instead of dealing with the substance and detail of the actual Brexit negotiation. The dysfunction at the heart of Theresa May's government cannot be a reason to weaken the Irish or the EU’s negotiating position in the crucial weeks ahead.

"The SDLP is clear that sufficient progress will not have been achieved unless the Irish Government, the British Government and the European Union are all locked into the commitment that there will be no hardening of the border in Ireland – no matter the outcome of the second phase of negotiations.

"The Irish Government must now hold strong to the position that sufficient progress will not have been made in the first phase of the Brexit negotiations unless and until there is sufficient clarity that there can be no hardening of the Irish border. In terms of practical economic regulation, that can only mean that the North remains as part of the single market and the customs union.

"The further this Brexit negotiation goes on, the greater the clarity of that solution becomes. It is a solution which can be protected and enhanced by the Good Friday Agreement."

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Brexit David Cullinane TD, said Theresa May and Boris Johnson are engaged in "fantasy politics".

He said: "They say that the North will leave the European Union but there will be no hardening of the border.

"They say the North will leave the customs union and single market but they claim it will have no impact on trade and the all-island economy.

"They say they will protect the Good Friday agreement, but are supporting the Good Friday Agreement leaving the legal framework of the European Union."Any commitments given to move on from phase one need a solid basis.

"We cannot have a situation arise whereby a vague and non-binding formula of words proffered by the Tories is accepted as sufficient progress.

"Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs must hold firm and use the veto on the talks unless the interests of the people of Ireland are addressed."

(CD/JP)