Probably the most important problem of Brexit has yet to be solved: Northern Ireland and its border with the EU.
Brexit might be a relatively old matter, having started almost seven years ago in 2016, but it is not over yet. Even though the economical side of negotiations seems to be finally over, there is yet one matter left to resolve: Northern Ireland.
The political campaign for “Leave” left out many crucial things before the actual referendum. Instead, we now know that they only spread lies and false propaganda against the EU, which lead to an economical disaster of massive proportions.
But possibly the most important thing they left out of the discussions was the simple question: “What will happen with Northern Ireland?”
Northern Ireland is a state of the United Kingdom that borders the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign country inside the European Union. While the rest of the UK is on an island, Northern Ireland shares a land border with the EU, and it is not a trivial matter.
Northern Ireland is a state made up of two different religions (catholics and protestants) and two different ethnicities (Irish and British). For 30 years the two sides clashed between each other, resulting in deaths, violence and uprisings.
Northern Ireland was in a state of “low-level war” until 1998, when an agreement between the parties was finally found. The “Good Friday Agreement”, as it is known, was crucially mediated by the European Union. With the UK outside of the EU, the Troubles could start again.
A difficult negotiation
During the six years between the start of Brexit and the official exit of the UK from the EU, Northern Ireland was discussed many times with no permanent agreement.
The problem was that an open border between the UK and Ireland was crucial to keep the peace. The Brexiteers, however, wanted to go all in and rip apart every connection with the Union, including freedom of trade and movement.
Eventually, the EU and the UK (at the time governed by Boris Johnson) came to a temporary settlement on the matter. There would be an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and a hard border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
What this means is that goods could enter Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland as there was an open border. Then, to get the goods from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK, they would be checked and patrolled in England or Scotland.
This agreement however left Northern Ireland completely isolated from its own country, the UK, and resulted in a major political crisis. Next week, negotiations between the UK and the EU on Northern Ireland will resume, and both parties have already started testing the waters.
The Northern Ireland conundrum could deal the worst consequences yet for the UK for leaving the EU. Just another reason why Brexit was a horrible, horrible idea.
