British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker discussed on Wednesday 2 October the proposals presented by the British leader on the same day on alternatives to the backstop for the island of Ireland.
The British negotiator, David Frost, was also in Brussels that same day to present these options to Michel Barnier's team, with the EU's chief negotiator then informing Member States in the evening.
Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed the Prime Minister's determination to "move forward with the discussions ahead of the October European Council and make progress towards an agreement". He "acknowledged the positive progress, in particular with regard to the full alignment of regulations on all goods and the monitoring of goods from Northern Ireland", the Commission reported in a statement.
However, he "also noted that there were still some problematic areas that would require further work in the coming days, particularly with regard to the governance of the backstop. The delicate balance established by the Good Friday agreement must be preserved. Substantive customs rules are another concern to be taken into account". However, the Commission will now "examine the legal text objectively".
Among the options submitted by London in a new Protocol for Northern Ireland and Ireland, an all-island regulatory zone would be created in Northern Ireland, aligned with single market rules for all goods and not just phytosanitary or agri-food products, thus eliminating the "need for checks between Northern Ireland and Ireland".
However, this all-island regulatory zone will have to be subject to the consent of the people living there, through Northern Ireland’s institutions, subsequently voted on every 4 years to determine whether things should remain as they are.
In this scheme, additional checks on goods would take place between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, but there would be no checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Ireland.
In contrast, Northern Ireland would leave the European Customs Union at the end of the transition period, at the same time as the rest of the United Kingdom. Customs checks between the north and south of the island would therefore be necessary, but they would not be located at the border, explains London.
"These arrangements will be based on the customs legislation in force on both sides", but the intention is to make "a series of simplifications and improvements to the legislation", with great cooperation between customs authorities on both sides; adjustments would be made for small traders in order to reduce administrative burdens.
"We are proposing that all customs processes needed to ensure compliance with the UK and EU customs regimes should take place on a decentralized basis, with paperwork conducted electronically as goods move between the two countries” and with a “very small number of physical checks needed”.
Link to the proposals: https://bit.ly/2mV9jGZ , https://bit.ly/2mVOXxi (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)