Backstop (Brexit Agreement)

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Sovereign states on the island of Ireland: the Republic of Ireland (Ireland) and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

The backstop ( English mutatis mutandis to "standard rules"; officially protocol to Ireland / Northern Ireland ) is a clause in the draft text of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum -Austrittsabkommens between the United Kingdom and the European Union . The clause concerns the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom, and is intended to act as reinsurance if, after the official exit from the EU on January 31, 2020, both negotiating partners do not agree on a different, better arrangement by December 31, 2020. The backstop clause was intended to prevent the inner-Irish border from becoming a customs border; this means that goods controls at the inner-Irish border can be dispensed with, as the same rules continue to apply on both sides.

On October 17, 2019, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the agreement on an amended Brexit agreement, in which the backstop is no longer included in its original form. The new regulation only applies to Northern Ireland, which remains a de facto member of the customs union, not the entire United Kingdom, as provided for in the clause in the old treaty. However, this requires customs controls between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, where exceptions should apply for certain goods. This agreement has not yet been ratified by the British House of Commons.

The backstop clause is based on the fact that if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union (Brexit) , Ireland would be particularly hard hit economically and politically. 85% of Irish goods exports take place via the fast transit route (10.5 hours) Dublin-Wales / England-France, using the previously duty-free ports in Holyhead , Liverpool and Calais . Furthermore, both the Irish and UK Governments rely on the Good Friday Agreement to maintain the status quo. The Good Friday Agreement essentially regulated the disarmament and political cooperation of the conflicting parties in the Northern Ireland conflict .

Temporal course

  • On March 29, 2017, the then British Prime Minister Theresa May activated Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union . Article 50 grants a two-year negotiation period on the exit conditions, taking into account future relationships, unless both sides agree on a negotiation period different from the two years.
  • In the event of a Brexit without a tariff or trade agreement, the UK and the EU27 would revert to the status of two normal World Trade Organization (WTO) members. WTO members are not allowed to discriminate against one another. For example, if the EU were to impose a 5% tariff on cars from the United States, this tariff must apply to cars from all WTO member states that do not have a customs agreement with the EU, including cars from the United Kingdom. The EU27 and thus Ireland would be obliged to carry out customs controls at the borders. Only specific customs agreements or a customs union with individual states can override this so - called most - favored nation principle of the WTO.
  • The Irish government initially requested a customs union with Northern Ireland, which would make customs clearance on the Irish island obsolete.
  • The negotiator of the European Union Michel Barnier initially excluded the development of future relations (two-phase negotiation strategy), so that (as of August 2019) new customs agreements between the United Kingdom and the EU have not yet been negotiated. The Republic of Ireland would be the most economically affected of all EU countries by customs borders in transit traffic via England to France.
  • Theresa May and Michel Barnier suggested that the whole of the United Kingdom should remain in the European Customs Union until a “better solution” exists.
But as long as a state is in a customs union, it cannot enter into international trade agreements itself. The EU would have a veto on this mechanism - it could keep the UK in the customs union indefinitely, or one day it could arbitrarily decide to set up a customs border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain . The UK would have no say in the EU negotiating international trade deals; This is the situation in which Turkey finds itself, which has no say in the European Customs Union.
  • In November 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in front of French fishermen that he would use the veto as leverage to give French fishermen access to the UK's exclusive economic zone.
  • The lower house of the British Parliament rejected the EU separation agreement in January 2019 and March 2019, which, according to official statements, was the rejection of the backstop clause.
  • According to Michel Barnier, a Brexit without an agreement would mean the introduction of EU customs duties and goods controls, which would take place on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In light of this, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar spoke of the need to station troops on the border. As of January 2019, the United Kingdom would also have to introduce goods controls at this border. However, it is unclear whether this would actually happen.
  • On October 17, 2019, a modified Brexit agreement was presented, which u. a. no longer contained the backstop. It was replaced by a regulation that only applies to Northern Ireland, the validity of which is also to depend on the approval of the Northern Irish Parliament after a transitional period of four years. The agreement was accepted by the EU member states and there has not yet been a vote in the lower house.

Idea and functionality of the backstop

The UK's approaching exit from the EU (Brexit) poses challenges for the Republic of Ireland (Ireland for short) due to economic peculiarities: Ireland's economic success (EU-wide second highest gross national product per person after Luxembourg ) is largely based on its low level in the EU comparison Corporate tax rate. The economic ties between Ireland and the UK / Northern Ireland are demonstrated by the fact that around 85% of Irish exports of goods go through ports in the UK and Northern Ireland. In the Brexit negotiations, the Irish government insisted on maintaining the status quo, particularly with regard to the inner-Irish border, arguing that this would avoid civil war in Northern Ireland.

The exit agreement negotiated between London and Brussels in November 2018 therefore contains the so-called backstop clause, which is intended to prevent this in any case. It provides that - if no other satisfactory arrangement can be made at the end of the 21-month transition period after the UK's exit, which was expected on March 29, 2019 in November 2018 - the following regulations will come into effect on a transitional basis :

  1. The United Kingdom continues to apply the external tariffs and EU rules of origin applicable in the European Customs Union , but without being a (voting) member itself.
  2. Tariffs, quotas or goods controls between the EU and the UK are excluded - with the exception of marine products.
  3. Agreements apply to equal competitive conditions and fair trade.
  4. Trade sanctions and preferences are applied jointly and equally by both.

The whole of the United Kingdom would effectively remain subject to the internal market and customs rules of the European Union, but without having a say in EU bodies (due to the expired membership). This means that goods controls at the inner-Irish border can be dispensed with, as the same rules continue to apply on both sides. This condition would remain until other regulations (such as new technical options for goods control) could be mutually agreed.

Michel Barnier proposed a “more harmless alternative” to introduce border controls in the Irish Sea , so that in the event of a backstop only Northern Ireland would remain in the EU internal market. However, this was prevented by the Northern Irish unionist party DUP , which supported the minority governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson, as it does not tolerate unequal treatment or even the drawing of borders between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Nonetheless, this type of backstop became part of Boris Johnson's new Brexit agreement. However, the DUP is to be given the possibility of a de facto veto right, as the backstop can be terminated by the Northern Irish Parliament four years after the end of the transition phase by 2021. It is theoretically possible to hold on to the backstop.

Justification of the backstop

In the Brexit negotiations since March 2017, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland called for the "unconditional maintenance of an invisible border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland", which perpetuates and guarantees the previous cross-border economic and political situation. The UK's remaining in the customs union, which this backstop would guarantee, may a. based on the Good Friday Agreement, linked to the warning of civil war. In fact, the Good Friday Agreement negotiated under the presidency of Irish-American politician George J. Mitchell does not mention the border or border controls, as it is an agreement on political relations between London, Dublin and Belfast . From the perspective of the Republic of Ireland, a permanent link between the United Kingdom and the EU is desirable, as this results from its close ties with the United Kingdom.

backgrounds

Ireland in the context of the EU

Ireland has significant links with the United Kingdom.

  • Both do not belong to the Schengen area . As before, border controls between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom could be dispensed with in the future, even in the event of a “hard Brexit”, but customs border controls could not.
  • Since 1923 there has been a non-binding agreement on the Common Travel Area, which rejects identity checks for travelers between the two countries. In practice, in 1997 Ireland unilaterally introduced identity checks on air and ship travelers from the United Kingdom.
  • Around 85% of Irish exports of goods pass through UK ports. Without a customs union with the UK, Irish exporters would have to find new transport routes to circumvent customs borders, e.g. B. direct transport routes to Cherbourg , Rotterdam or Zeebrugge .
  • According to the Central Statistics Bureau of the Republic of Ireland, around a quarter of all goods imported into Ireland come from manufacturers based in the United Kingdom, plus imported goods from Asia or America and continental Europe that are shipped to the United Kingdom, mostly to England , then be transported overland to Wales and then in turn by ship to Ireland.
  • The fisheries of all countries in the European Union land around 6 million tons of fish per year, of which around 3 million tons come from the UK's exclusive economic zone . The loss of these waters would hit the Irish fisheries particularly hard, as it is in these waters that they make a third of their catch.

With regard to the EU, Ireland's strategic economic interests are reflected in low corporate tax rates. They persuaded many American corporations with EU-wide ambitions (e.g. Apple, Google, Amazon) to register in Ireland. Since tax law is a national law, Ireland was long protected from repression by the European Union, but in 2017 the EU Commission ruled that Ireland's tax rates are prohibited state aid. The United Kingdom handles tax legislation in a similar way to the Government of the Republic of Ireland, v. a. Both reject the introduction of a digital tax. From the Irish government's point of view, Brexit threatens Ireland’s economic success in two ways: it will make trade with the UK more difficult and it will remove its most important political partner in liberal tax legislation.

Brexit, even with a withdrawal agreement, threatens the Republic of Ireland's economy most of the 27 EU member states. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in June 2018 in front of the Bundestag the provision of loans for Ireland after a Brexit. Because of the economic hardship, the Irish would like the United Kingdom to remain in the European Customs Union, as laid down in the backstop clause in the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Good Friday Agreement

In the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 u. a. the aim of a return to normal security measures in Northern Ireland as soon as possible is regulated in the following section:

"The British Government will make progress towards the objective of as early a return as possible to normal security arrangements in Northern Ireland, […] dealing with: […] (ii) the removal of security installations."

"The UK Government will work to achieve the goal of a return to normal security measures in Northern Ireland as soon as possible, [...] which concerns: [...] (ii) the dismantling of security facilities."

- The British Government, The Irish Government : Agreement reached in the multi-party negotiations (April 10, 1998)

After the United Kingdom left the EU, Northern Ireland's border with the Republic of Ireland will be the new external border to the European Union. In the event of tariff differences at an external border, EU or WTO rules prescribe goods controls. Both countries are not members of the Schengen area , but since 1923 they have agreed their own area of ​​freedom of movement with the help of the Common Travel Area . Thus, after a Brexit, personal controls are generally not necessary. However, technical reasons alone could lead to the establishment of new border installations between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the case of goods controls. In their statements, both countries referred to the successful settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict or, in this case, feared a flare-up between the two parts of the island, which both countries absolutely want to prevent.

Common misinformation

Certain misinformation is circulating about the backstop in both English-language and German-language media:

  • “The Good Friday Agreement regulates border issues.” In fact, the border is not mentioned in the Good Friday Agreement.
  • “The backstop is supposed to guarantee the free movement of people.” In fact, the backstop is only supposed to prevent goods checks. The free movement of people is the subject of the Common Travel Area .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Withdrawal Agreement : p. 302 ff.
  2. ↑ a b Hendrik Kafsack, Philip Plickert: Agreement stands: Unexpected breakthrough in Brexit . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed October 19, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Emergency customs solution wanted: An extra sausage for Great Britain, please! In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 16, 2019, accessed February 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Brexit: a customs union as a solution? In: Economic Service. November 5, 2018, accessed February 6, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Brexit backstop 'could leave NI alone in customs union'. In: BBC. December 5, 2018, accessed February 6, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Brexit: a customs union as a solution? In: Economic Service. November 5, 2018, accessed February 6, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Downing Street hits back at Macron threat over Brexit fishing deal. In: Ihe Guardian. November 26, 2018, accessed February 5, 2019 .
  8. ^ The collective madness behind Britain's latest Brexit plan. In: washingtonpost.com . February 1, 2019, accessed on April 19, 2019 : "Parliament would back the Brexit deal if" alternative arrangements "were found for the backstop"
  9. ↑ The backstop remains the reason for the parliamentary Brexit impasse and must be addressed. In: brexitcentral.com. April 11, 2019, accessed on April 19, 2019 (English): "The Government (of the United Kingdom) may have weakened its hand by its own pathetic negotiations, but it still has arguments which could be used to have the toxic backstop removed "
  10. ↑ Patrick Smyth: EC spokesman who confirmed hard border insists EU still 'fully behind Ireland'. In: The Irish Times. January 23, 2019, accessed on February 5, 2019 : “ [European Commission spokesman] Mr Schinas re-emphasized Ireland's responsibility for protecting the integrity of the EU single market. That is a barely coded reminder that Ireland may not have any alternative in a no-deal scenario other than to check goods coming across the border. "
  11. ↑ Patrick Smyth: Elaborate checks on goods crossing border necessary in no-deal Brexit - Barnier. In: The Irish Times. April 2, 2019, accessed on April 14, 2019 : " Speaking at a Brussels think tank, [Barnier] said," we need to find the way somewhere to implement the checks. We're working with Irish Government to know where we can apply these checks. We have to implement everywhere, at each and every external border of the EU three types of controls to protect consumers, food security, animal disease, to protect the budgets of the EU and national budgets, so the fiscal controls for VAT and customs controls, and serve to protect businesses against counterfeiting and ensure the goods entering the EU are meeting standards. " "
  12. ^ Troops could return to the Irish border, warns Varadkar. In: BBC. January 25, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Joe Brennan: Taoiseach warns of 'major dilemma' on Border in no-deal Brexit. In: The Irish Times. January 24, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
  14. ↑ European Union: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the member states at current prices in 2017. In: Statista.com. Retrieved February 3, 2019 .
  15. ↑ https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/the_withdrawal_agreement_explained.pdf
  16. ↑ Bespoke Brexit needed to avoid hard border, says Leo Varadkar. In: The Irish Times. November 10, 2017, accessed on February 5, 2019 : "in order to preserve the Good Friday Agreement peace deal, the Brexit divorce deal must respect the integrity of the internal market and the customs union"
  17. ^ Good Friday Agreement 'wouldn't have happened without EU'. In: BBC. December 29, 2017, accessed on January 30, 2019 (English): “I don't think the European Union was essential in the [Good Friday Agreement] talks themselves, but I believe the talks would never have occurred had there not been a European Union "
  18. ↑ Brexit: Does the Irish peace accord rule out a hard border? In: BBC. January 30, 2019, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Ronan McCrea: Ireland's Brexit backstop gamble may not be a wise bet. In: The Irish Times. January 3, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
  20. ^ Bernard Ryan: The Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland . In: Modern Law Review . tape 64 , 2001, p. 855 , doi : 10.1111 / 1468-2230.00356 .
  21. ↑ Reality Check: The Brexit challenge for Irish trade. In: BBC. June 29, 2018, accessed February 4, 2019 .
  22. ↑ gtai.de : Transport und Logistik - Irland ( Memento from February 9, 2019 in the Internet Archive ) (“The fastest connection to the European continent is the route by ferry to Wales including land over the British island and another ferry to Zeebrugge or to one other northwest European port. ")
  23. ^ Brexit Ireland and the UK in numbers. In: cso.ie, Central Statistics Office. 2016, accessed on February 9, 2019 (The report reflects the situation in 2014 and 2015).
  24. ↑ Main world producers (2007). (PDF) Retrieved July 23, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Lorna Siggins: Fishing announcement UK's "first serious shot on United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum". In: The Irish Times. July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017 .
  26. ↑ United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum stokes tax fight between Ireland and the EU. In: Politico. August 17, 2017, accessed February 4, 2019 .
  27. ↑ European digital tax as big a threat as Brexit, Ministers fear. In: Irish Times. October 28, 2017, accessed February 4, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Fiach Kelly: Classified report shows Brexit will hit Ireland worse than UK. In: The Irish Times. February 24, 2018, accessed February 4, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Jan Hildebrand: Merkel's answer to Macron - This is how the Chancellor wants to change Europe. In: Handelsblatt. June 3, 2018, accessed on February 4, 2019 : “In addition to the long-term aid programs, the Chancellor proposes a new instrument: a credit line with a term of around five years. "This would enable us to give a helping hand to countries that get into difficulties due to external circumstances." Merkel takes up an idea from the IMF and the French who advocate a so-called rainy day fund. This is supposed to help states that get into a crisis through no fault of their own. Ireland was cited as an example, which could suffer particularly from Brexit. The concrete form of this instrument is likely to be disputed. Merkel made it clear what is important to her: "Always subject to conditions, of course, in a limited amount and with full repayment."
  30. ↑ Ronan McCrea: Ireland's Brexit backstop gamble may not be a wise bet. In: The Irish Times. January 3, 2019, accessed on February 5, 2019 : “ The fundamental premise of the Irish Government's approach has been that the British authorities will either swallow the backstop or cancel Brexit altogether. "
  31. ^ Agreement reached in the multi-party negotiations (April 10, 1998). Retrieved March 10, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Visit to Northern Ireland: May emphasizes the will to open borders. In: tagesschau.de . February 5, 2019, accessed on February 5, 2019 : "The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 promised a limit without controls."