It reads like a trailer for Boris Johnson’s leaders’ speech on Wednesday. The British “non-papers” have gelled into what is in effect a No Deal plan masquerading as a negotiating position. The BBC, RTE and the Daily Telegraph are all reporting that the UK government will propose checks on either side of the border but away from the border itself. As this in no way acts as a substitute for the backstop it will be rejected by Dublin and the EU. It may therefore be regarded as tantamount to arrangements for No Deal. It seems that the border proposal described in one of four “non-papers” submitted by London last week will harden into the real thing. But there is some confusion about what is proposed north of the border, as reports differ.
Adding this morning.
The Prime Minister has insisted that the leaked proposals are “not what we’re proposing at all” but refused to go any further, saying it was important for the UK to “veil our proposals in obscurity.”
From the Guardian’s notes of the Today interview.
He has seen some leaked plans, possibly leaked by Brussels, that are not quite right.
Q: So the report about having customs clearances sites away from the border are not true?
Johnson says that is correct.
It would not make sense to have a new border away from the border.
Q: But people say there have to be checks somewhere?
Johnson says he accepts that.
He says the UK is coming up to the point of decision.
A single, united country must have its own customs territory.
But there are lots of ways of doing this. There are ways of protecting the customs area…
The fact though that a plan has been comprehensively briefed on means London is now about to put maximum pressure on Dublin to come up with a substitute for the backstop which London remains determined to reject.
With UK and EU officials about to “ go into the tunnel “ for real negotiations on the basis of a formal submission from London later this week, events maybe moving at last. The Times has got wind of how Johnson plans to reconcile the contradiction between obeying the law and leaving on 31 October. When he submits his proposal he will ask the EU to refuse to grant an extension and confront MPs with the choice to support it or Leave on 31 October. He may well believe that as his plan for border checks amounts to No Deal the EU will see no point in continuing to negotiate. The result would surely be an election accompanied by a request to the EU from Parliament to grant an extension until after the result is known or an attempt to topple Johnson even before he gets to Brussels on October 18.
The ideas, which would be highly controversial, are contained in proposals sent from London to the European Union – extracts of which have been seen by RTÉ News.
The proposals would effectively mean customs posts being erected on both sides of the border, but located perhaps five to ten miles ‘back’ from the actual land frontier.
This is because under British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK is insisting that Northern Ireland remain completely outside the EU’s customs union for industrial goods and agri-food products.
Even more controversial is a proposal that the goods moving from a so-called “customs clearance site” on the northern side of the border to a similar site on the southern side would be monitored in real time using GPS via mobile phone data, or tracking devices placed on trucks or vans.
The ideas are contained in one of four so-called ‘non-papers’ submitted by UK officials during recent technical discussions in Brussels.
Under the British proposals, both the UK and EU would create what are believed to be called “customs clearance sites”, but to all intents and purposes a customs post.
raders would have a choice of either a straightforward customs declaration which would have to be lodged and cleared on either side of the border, or the so-called ‘transit’ system.
Under a transit scheme, the exporter becomes a registered ‘consigner’ at base, and the importer becomes a registered ‘consignee’.
The method requires a bond from a financial institution to guarantee that the relevant customs duty, excise and VAT have been paid and that the goods do not go illegally off the beaten track en route.
The UK proposals have been discussed in technical talks with the European Commission’s Brexit Task Force under Michel Barnier.
However, the detail of the four non-papers have not been disclosed to EU member states.
he latest proposals fleshed out in discussions with EU officials would foresee customs clearance sites where consignments are checked and cleared, with data being provided to the customs authorities on both sides of the border.
The authorities would decide on the basis of the data which truck or consignments to check.
These checks would take place at traders’ premises or at “inland customs clearance sites”.
This would effectively give rise to customs infrastructure, albeit at some distance from the border.
It is understood there could be up to ten such sites on either side of the border, under the UK’s proposals.
According to the plans, larger companies could apply for Authorised Economic Operator status, which would minimise the level of customs checks. However, micro-businesses and SMEs would, according to recent testimony from freight and industry figures, find such status expensively prohibitive.
Briefings by EU sources in recent weeks have made it clear that under Mr Johnson, the UK has focused its efforts on avoiding physical infrastructure at the actual land border.
European Commission officials have made it clear that the UK appears to have retreated from the commitments entered into by former prime minister Theresa May in the Joint Report of December 2017, which aimed to avoid a hard border, physical infrastructure, and related checks and controls, as well as aiming to preserve the all-island economy and North-South cooperation.
While the UK has proposed an all-Ireland agri-food zone, in order to avoid onerous regulatory checks on food, live animals and animal-derived products, they have made it clear that both food and animal products, as well as industrial goods, would be liable to customs controls, as Northern Ireland would remain in the UK’s customs union, with no customs alignment with the EU – if the proposals seen by RTÉ News are in keeping with such a position.
However, if they were to be formally tabled by the UK they would mark a stark retreat from the December 2017 promises, and would not meet the EU’s demand that any new proposals meet all the outcomes of the backstop.
Mr Johnson’s intention is to confront MPs in parliament with a binary choice of agreeing the revised deal or ensuring that Britain falls out of the EU without agreement at the end of the month. If he succeeds, the prime minister will, in effect, nullify the Benn act, which compels him to seek an extension to Article 50.
The EU understands that the UK will table formal papers on customs and other elements either on Wednesday or Thursday, after Mr Johnson has addressed the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
Both the idea of customs posts, or “clearance sites” on both sides of the border, as well as real-time tracking of the movements of goods and vehicles, would be a highly controversial concession for the Irish Government to make.
Politicians have condemned the UK ‘non paper’ which has proposed the creation of a string of customs posts along both sides of the Irish border as part of its effort to replace the backstop.
Fianna Fail’s deputy leader, Dara Calleary, told RTÉ News that what was described in the UK non-paper is the infrastructure associated with a hard border.
He said: “A hard border, with its infrastructure, is something which we cannot tolerate on our island
From the Daily Telegraph’s version by Peter Foster.
Downing Street will set out the Prime Minister’s preferred alternative to the Irish backstop in a series of calls to EU capitals ahead of a formal text being delivered to Brussels after his speech to the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday.
The UK plan, which could be delivered as early as Tuesday, is expected to be based on the creation of an all-Ireland “economic zone” which would allow agricultural and food products to move between Ulster and the republic without checks at the border. A proposal to align regulations on industrial goods is expected to be included.
The proposal will also suggest ways for Northern Ireland’s political parties to have a say in the application of any EU rules and regulations in order to build democratic legitimacy for the replacement to the backstop.
But on the critical question of customs – which the EU side says is a potential deal-breaker – the Johnson plan is still expected to rely on technology and so-called “alternative arrangements”, such as trusted-trader schemes and exemptions for small businesses.
Downing Street is expected to propose that details of such an arrangement should be subject to further negotiation during the transition period.
Senior EU sources told The Telegraph that unless Mr Johnson’s proposals made massive strides in their direction, the sides would be “simply nowhere near” an agreement.
Precise details of the British plan remain a closely guarded secret in Whitehall. Mr Johnson is considering using his conference speech to set out the overall plan but will decide whether to push ahead with such an announcement in the next 24 hours.
The Times reports that Boris Johnson is asking the European Union to rule out a further extension to Article 50 as part of a new Brexit deal.
The prime minister will publish a legal text spelling out his proposed alternative to the Irish backstop within days as negotiations with Brussels enter a crucial period. He has privately made clear that an agreement should include a commitment from the other 27 EU nations that they will not allow another Brexit delay.
r Johnson’s intention is to confront MPs in parliament with a binary choice of agreeing the revised deal or ensuring that Britain falls out of the EU without agreement at the end of the month. If he succeeds, the prime minister will, in effect, nullify the Benn act, which compels him to seek an extension to Article 50.
Senior ministers are bracing themselves for what one has described as a “moment of truth” for Dublin, Paris, Berlin and Brussels when Britain tables its text on proposals for the Irish border after Brexit. Some were expressing concern last night that the Republic of Ireland seemed to be cooling on the solution, which is understood to include limited checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain.
If, however, Brussels chooses to engage with the British proposals, ministers expect intense negotiations leading up to the European Council in a little more than a fortnight. Should the EU agree to both a new deal and to rule out an extension, the parliamentary arithmetic will be radically altered.
Mr Johnson’s request will provoke a battle with Remain MPs for the ear of European leaders including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and President Macron. France, which was sceptical over the value of the last delay, is understood to have been consulted by the architects of the Benn act over its terms. The prime minister has been warned by members of his cabinet that he will be forced to delay Brexit unless he can get a deal with the EU.
One minister said that Mr Johnson was now facing a straight choice of “deal or delay” and could not leave without a deal on October 31. Another minister involved in “war-gaming” attempts to circumvent the act, which forces Mr Johnson to request a Brexit delay if he cannot strike a deal, conceded that they were unlikely to be successful. “The law is the law,” the minister said. “We’ve looked at the options here but in truth there is no foolproof way out here.”
Ministers expect Mr Johnson to “take it to the max” to force Britain to leave the EU at the end of this month. The prime minister has told aides that he is prepared to give evidence in person at any Supreme Court hearing into the legality of the Benn act, which he has called “the surrender act”. One minister said: “The important thing is that Boris shows he is fighting this with every sinew.”
In his interviews this morning Johnson denies asking the EU to refuse an extension but..
: Are you asking EU leaders to rule out a Brexit extension?
Johnson says he has not made any such request.
But he says he thinks EU leaders do want this sorted..
Johnson says the EU is doing things that are not in the interests of the UK.
Q: So you will veto things they want?
Johnson says the EU see the UK as a great power. We have spent three years arguing about leaving. They want to see us leaving, and a positive relationship with us.
These answers qualify very little that his proposals will lead to No Deal.The most that can be said in favour of a deal is (a) this is work in progress and there will be significant movement in the substantive negotiations and (b) he will propose just enough for the EU to give him a deal and agree to shove “alternative arrangements” into the political declaration setting the agenda for a final settlement during a transition period that could last for up to five years. While this outcome would present a major challenge to the Commons majority, it seems very unlikely.
The FT adds interesting detail and differs on the need for checks north of the border
In his speech to party activists, the prime minister is expected to declare the controversial “Irish backstop” dead, challenging the EU to accept the new British proposal or face the prospect of a disorderly no-deal Brexit. “By the end of the week everyone will know whether a deal is possible,” said one ally. One cabinet minister said: “If the EU starts to leak and brief against us, that would be a very bad sign.” Mr Johnson is pinning his hopes on Leo Varadkar, Irish prime minister, indicating to the EU that the British proposal could form the basis of a deal, addressing the key issue of avoiding the return of physical infrastructure on the border.
However the proposal would avoid having similar outposts in Northern Ireland to avoid border infrastructure, an EU official briefed on the plans told the Financial Times. Such customs posts could become targets for republican attacks and Mr Johnson’s allies dismissed as “totally untrue” suggestions that Britain was about to propose the idea. The government wants to use GPS tracking to notify customs authorities of when goods are approaching the frontier and provide only physical examination if cargo fails digital risk assessments.
In Ireland, the UK proposal is being seen as a rehash of the maximum-facilitation plans previously rejected by Brussels and Dublin and it is considered “unbelievable” that such ideas were still being advanced at this late stage in the negotiation.
The British prime minister’s allies say they do not expect other EU member states to abandon Ireland. “Nobody here is expecting Ireland to be thrown under the bus,” said one senior government official. “That’s obviously not going to happen.”
Mr Johnson has told colleagues that any deal must be able to satisfy both Mr Varadkar and the Democratic Unionist party. “Everyone has to hold hands and jump into the swimming pool together,” the prime minister has told friends. The outline of the British proposal has become clearer in recent days. Mr Johnson will try to reduce the need for regulatory checks at the border by proposing that agriculture and food be part of a single “all-Ireland” regulatory space. Britain could go further by suggesting that manufactured goods should also be included, as long as “consent” is provided by a reconvened Stormont assembly in Belfast. The DUP has warned it would oppose any plan that imposed new border checks in the Irish Sea. Extra time could be built into any deal to allow new technical arrangements for “behind-the-border” checks — based on intelligence and trusted-trader schemes — by allowing a standstill transition period to run until the end of 2022.
From Sky News’ Beth Rigby
I understand UK govt have proposed a customs ‘mechanism’ whereby customs processes conducted at origin or destination of goods. When inspections need to be conducted ‘could be at destination, could be a dedicated premises away from border. Not a ‘string of inspection posts’
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London
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