By Tony O'Riley-
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier is a poor negotiator who must be confronted. His comments at the European Parliament that the Irish backstop is “part and parcel” of the UK’s Brexit deal which will not be renegotiated is nothing short of bullish behaviour.
Speaking at the European Parliament, Mr Barnier said it was a “realistic solution” to preventing a hard border. If it were such a realistic solution Mps would not have so comprehensively voted down the deal when presented before Parliament last week.
On Tuesday, Mps voted for PM Theresa May to seek “alternative arrangements” to the backstop.
As it stands, the backstop would effectively keep the UK inside the EU’s customs union, forcing Northern Ireland to comply with rules of the single market. Skeptics say a different status for Northern Ireland could threaten the existence of the UK and fear that the backstop could become permanent.
Mrs May wants to explore several possible alternatives to the backstop that she wanted to discuss with EU leaders.
These include a “trusted trader” scheme to avoid physical checks on goods flowing through the border, “mutual recognition” of rules with the EU and “technological” solutions. She also wants to discuss a time limit on the backstop and a “unilateral exit” mechanism . Her suggestions are logical, and if the EU rule them out, they must present reasons for them.
Mr Barnier said: “Calmly and clearly, I will say right here and now – with this withdrawal agreement proposed for ratification – we need this backstop as it is.
“Rejecting the backstop as it stands today boils down to rejecting the solution which has been found with the British, but the problem remains.” Jean Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission said he believed Mrs May’s “personal commitment” to avoid “slipping back to darker times past”, but he said the “safety net” of the backstop was necessary to prevent it. He said: “We have no desire to use this safety net, [but] no safety net can be truly safe if it can just be removed at any time.”
Juncker, in his own words proved the point. The safety net is not truly safe because it can be removed at any point. Nigel Farage accused the EU of putting May in the difficult position by pressurising her into into the backstop in the first place.
The former UKIP leader told the European Parliament: “I accept [Mrs May] made a dreadful mistake by signing up to the backstop, [but] you summoned her at 04:15 in the morning, she left Downing Street, she went to meet the ultimatum you set her.
“She signed up to something that has proved to be a disaster. She signed up to something that no country, unless it had been defeated in war, would have signed up to.
“We now realise that mistake and the House of Commons, the country is overall looking for a deal.”