MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Biden does not want an Ireland/UK guarded border; insists on Good Friday peace deal
Biden had stressed the importance of protecting Northern Ireland's peace deal in the Brexit process in a call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday he did not want to see a guarded border between Ireland and the United Kingdom, adding that he had previously discussed the matter with the British and Irish prime ministers and other European leaders.
Biden had stressed the importance of protecting Northern Ireland's peace deal in the Brexit process in a call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in the month, after Biden won the Nov. 3 U.S. election against President Donald Trump.
Johnson's government is seeking a trade deal with the European Union but says it is willing to leave without one. That could complicate the situation at the sensitive Northern Irish border with Ireland - the UK's only land border with the EU.
Biden told journalists in Wilmington, Delaware, that the border must be open.
“We do not want a guarded border,” he said, answering a question from a reporter on what he would say to Brexit negotiators.
The 1998 Good Friday peace deal that effectively ended Northern Ireland's 30 years of sectarian violence created institutions for cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland.
Johnson put forward legislation in September that would break the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit divorce treaty that seeks to avoid a physical customs border between the British province and EU-member Ireland.
Biden, who has talked about the importance of his Irish heritage, warned months ago as the Democratic candidate for the presidency that the UK must honor the 1998 agreement as it withdraws from the bloc or there can be no separate U.S. trade deal.
Johnson has never met Biden and commentators have suggested the prime minister will have to work hard to foster the “special relationship” between the historic allies.
Ireland's prime minister said on Monday he hoped the outline of a Brexit free-trade deal would emerge by the end of this week, despite what the EU negotiator called “fundamental divergences” at talks.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
Read all commentsNorthern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, not part of the United States nor of the Republic of Ireland nor part of the European Union.
Nov 26th, 2020 - 01:36 am 0It is a bit moronic to expect borders in the United Kingdom to avoid borders outside the United Kingdom.
It is for Europe and the Irish Republic to be tactful and to bend the rules as much as possible inside the Union of Europe and if our Kingdom does the same, with RECIPROCAL good will, we may get away with it.
Of course that may mean the Republic to be reasonable and not want to pick a fight and there is where we may find that the trouble starts.
UK really needs to scrap the entire Withdrawal Agreement as the deal which it proposed in the political declaration Canada Style won't be forthcoming.
We really shouldn't be playing around with the Internal Market bill at all, just denounce the W.A and declare that our Kingdom is no longer a party to it. And negotiate everything from outside the EU as Theresa May made that terrible mistake of saying YES to the timetable and anything EU.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!