Well what do you suggest they/ we / the EU do? If it comes to a trade war/ hard border/ tariffs on goods.
This issue with Brexit and the Protocol is that it's being used by both sides of the divide up north to further their own agendas. Most citizens in this Republic want as little to do with this as possible, yet we are being dragged in. Our government has to strike a line that preserves what's good for our citizens as much as possible. Imho they spent too much time in the Brexit negotiations trying to figure out what was best for Northern Ireland and somewhat ignored the best interests of those that elect them down here.
It's intractable in many ways unless there is major goodwill and turning of blind eyes on all sides. That seems very unlikely given those who are determined to weaponise the issue. One solution that I've pointed out is that we move back closer at least temporarily to the UK, resolve border issues on our island and then move forward as one again in the future. Decades of work and most definitely not favoured by most who post here.
Our government has to strike a line that preserves what's good for our citizens as much as possible.
One solution that I've pointed out is that we move back closer at least temporarily to the UK, resolve border issues on our island and then move forward as one again in the future.
Those two sentences are completely at odds with one another.
How will moving closer to the UK be the best option for our citizens? What of our ties and integrations with the EU? The SM is important to Britain despite what they might have everyone believe, so is it not just as important to us? Why would we want to move ourselves the other side of the NIP protocol?
How will moving closer to the UK help "resolve our border issues" and move forward "as one" again in the future? As one what? One UK of GB & I?
If as a United Ireland, at what point after "moving closer" do we decide to drift apart again? Won't we just run into the exact issues we are now, just having kicked the can down the road and now without the backing of the EU? And drift apart where? Back to the EU who we've just given two fingers to their years of solidarity on the NI issue? Off on our own?
It's easy to suggest major goodwill and turning of blind eyes on all sides, but the unwillingness of the UK to do just that is exactly why we're in this mess right now. They have prior obligations that they are obliged to keep. Why should we forget about these obligations and not hold them to theirs?
I again make the point that no Brexit is good for Ireland so I really don't see what we have to gain by simply letting the UK trample all over us in some desperate hope they'll be super nice to us going forward...
Sounds like Frost has run out of threats and bluster and stepped back. The Protocol is going nowhere thankfully.
We need to move further away from GB not closer, it's a pity we couldn't physically move down to the Bay Of Biscay. Ireland needs all-island sovereign integrity followed by a coherent security policy that would allow us to, at the very least, assert our neutrality.
During the pandemic Unionism's determination to slavishly follow London's disastrous lead exposed the idiocy of Ireland not acting as one territory in a time of national crisis.
In the longer term we should integrate ourselves fully into European defence pacts should they emerge, we have a valuable strategic location in the North Atlantic and should use it to the benefit of European interests.
Thomas Byrne looking a little worse for wear
The express is your source for news?
It's my source for comedy
Not sure what he did wrong there, but personally wouldn't send Thomas out to see if it was raining.
Is that his picture?
That's not Thomas Byrne in that photo.
That article is so delusionally detached from reality to be barely worth discussion.
Contrast eu borders west & east?
Another dirty secret from the Eu and they have the cheek to play high and mighty with British sausages. Areas of the Eu that journalists are not allowed into to hide their international crimes that are ongoing. I would be very concerned if this was the union I belong to doing this in 2021
Disgraceful behaviour in forcing migrants back over your border to dice with death. Your parliament has voted for this, in clear breach of international law. Are you proud to be members? Can you condemn the Eu for this behaviour? Do you own it?
can you imagine the outcry if the Uk were doing this at our international border in Fermanagh and barring journalists from the area?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-58671941
There is no country without borders. This was in fact the central premise of Brexit. 'Take back control' effectively means 'Take back our borders' and I don't think anyone should deny any country 'or union of Member States' the right to refuse entry to people from third countries. Countries would simply disappear if all migrants were granted entry.
The stuff happening at the Polish border is an act of war however and in a war youll find that humanitarian considerations are quickly transcended by the need to prevail. Putin CANNOT be allowed to get away with this vile act and the consequences are squarely on him and Lukashenko.
Coincidentally it looks like for the people looking to leave Europe to prevent immigration Brexit might not mean Brexit at all:
The UK is now MORE attractive to migrants. What a disaster Brexit is!
Do I like it? Obviously not.
What has any of that got to do with the thread?
Nothing but its another useful distraction from the facts of this thread. I await three pages of back and forth trying to shoehorn this in as a relevance to the NI Protocol. It's throwing sh1te at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Sorry Francie, I missed your reply.
I think we're talking past eachother a bit here; I've misinterpreted you earlier and you've taken my explanation as an attempt at justification!
I agree that it SHOULDN'T be happening, I was just pointing out why I think it is happening, and saying that I don't blame Allister for taking the platform when its there.
Of course they are going to take the opportunities, it's like oxygen for them. The natural order would see them die out and disappear though, like our Peter Casey's, Declan Ganley's.
Somebody else pondering the imbalance. Also a very good and thoughtful article that needs much more prominence
.
can you imagine the outcry if the Uk were doing this at our international border in Fermanagh
They wouldn't dare.
Tweet from the US Senate Foreign Relations committee. Note they specifically mention the protocol. Previously it was just the GFA.
You live in a state which shoots its citizens, covers it up & your politicians celebrate it.
Fix the beam in your own eye before you start worrying about the mote in someone else's.
Giving about the EU and human rights and just the Other day the leader of the DUP and another MP proudly attended the funeral of a British Army Scum who murdered a mentally disabled man and not a word of condemnation of this from anyone in the Unionist Community, Stones in glass houses come to mind
It’s completely to do with this thread. You guys are on your high horses about how wonderful the Eu is and how it is always consistent with regard to its borders. This blows both those claims out of the water
The EU is made up of many states downcow, nobody has said how wonderful they are, it has faults, needs some reform but as a Union compared to the one you are in there is zero contest...zero.
We are staying in it and so are you by the looks of it.
tell me this. Would you refer to Martin Maginnis as IRA scum? And would you be happy if I did? And that he agreed the strapping of an innocent catholic to a bomb and had the button pressed to blow him to bits. Stop this nonsense of seeing only the other sides actions as worth condemnation
Thankfully we don’t have that **** happening in our union
No, you'd let them in and allow wealthy farmers to enslave them in appalling conditions.
Fens migrant workers 'exploited', BBC finds - BBC News
Brexit: the low-paid migrant workers ‘trapped’ on Britain’s farms | Financial Times (ft.com)
The Welsh people and Scotland voted to stay in the EU. The north of Ireland voted to stay in the EU and now they support the EU/Dublin position on the Protocol. Your so-called 'union' is a mess and in the end leaving the EU will be considered the point where it all began to fall apart.
This coming from someone who claims to have voted to remain within the EU (but changed their stance afterwards because the "people" voted to leave.
Yet more trolling methinks!
Still confusing the EU with a country within the EU ? Easy mistake to make if you listen to the regular anti EU propaganda.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w7.vanillicon.com/v2/7c96e2329b3b29f4a7590b78e75e1224.svg)