Trump’s Northern Ireland envoy warns of ‘hard border by accident’

Trump’s Northern Ireland envoy warns of ‘hard border by accident’

 

Lack of border on the island must be maintained, Mick Mulvaney says.

 

By MERLIN SUGUE 9/18/20, 11:58 AM CET Updated 9/18/20, 12:07 PM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/trumps-northern-ireland-envoy-warns-of-hard-border-by-accident/

 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Northern Ireland warned Friday against creating a hard border "by accident" on the island of Ireland.

 

The British government has faced fierce criticism for introducing a bill that would amend parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement relating to Northern Ireland — a move London acknowledged breaches international law.

 

Speaking to the Financial Times, envoy Mick Mulvaney said: “Everyone assures me that no one is interested in seeing a hard border between the republic and Northern Ireland ... We appreciate that, we respect that and we agree with that. The one thing I keep trying to assure is on the front of everybody’s mind is avoiding a border by accident."

 

Both the EU and U.S. Democrats had previously warned that the bill could endanger peace on the island if the Brexit transition period ends without an EU-U.K. trade deal. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that a U.K.-U.S. trade deal "must be contingent upon ... preventing the return of a hard border."

 

While Mulvaney said the bill would “not directly” threaten peace in Northern Ireland, he felt that “there’s so much left to be decided on Brexit including the [bill]. I see nothing in particular that would inevitably lead to a hard border, but again I am simply concerned that everyone be aware of the potential risks.”

 

He added: “We’re going to wait and see because the underlying EU-U.K. trade discussion could end up mooting" the bill.

 

Authors:

Merlin Sugue