BREXIT DEAL BACKSTOP ARRANGEMENTS

To:     The Right Honourable UK Prime Minister Mrs. Theresa May

From: Athinarayanan Sanjeevraja

Date: February 1, 2019

RE:     BREXIT Deal (Backstop)

Suggestion:

Hon. Prime Minister, let me start by paying my respects to you and through you to. Hon. Prime Minister, your BREXIT deal that keeps the UK in the European Union Customs Union and Northern Ireland in the single market and the UK to adhere to the EU State aid. It requires the EU 27 Member States approval for the UK to exit the backstop. Fundamentally, if the Britain leaves the EU Customs Union and the EU regulatory regime there has to be a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland. Hard border would violate the GFA. Neither the Republic of Ireland nor the UK and Northern Ireland wants the hard border there. The backstop does propose an actual way to avoid hard border. Now the UK needs a workable solution that could replace the backstop. IMHO, there are no alternatives to the backstop. The backstop never disappears in BREXIT deal. European Commission President Hon. Jean Claude Juncker says “EU won’t re-negotiate BREXIT deal” The UK government tries to the best of its ability to find a way to depart from the EU bloc that would be acceptable to the UK parliament and the EU 27 Member States. Couple of days back I was optimistic that a path to a second referendum but this is getting worse day by day. The UK government is slowly heading towards an acrimonious act of enmity with all its most important neighbours, allies and economic partners.

Hon. Prime Minister, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are very reluctant to give up the social and economic benefits which have been achieved through GFA. GFA has successfully introduced peace to the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland for almost 20 years post opening the border. BREXIT will trap the process by wrecking the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland economy as well as peace. Economy and peace in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland cannot be sacrificed in BREXIT process. We need strong commitment of managing the Irish border that includes working within existing GFA after BREXIT.   

Hon. Prime Minister, the result of no deal BREXIT will result in an immediate hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. If the UK left the EU without upholding its obligations to keep peace in Ireland under the GFA, there will be real threat to peace in Ireland. History reveals that it will take couple of generations for peace process not just years to establish a lasting peace for those who have lived through the violence. We should not forget that the UK and the Ireland government signed an International Treaty (GFA) that has more than an agreement. BREXIT should build a new relationship with the EU and other non-EU countries. BREXIT should resolve the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland border issue in a way that maintains the gains of the GFA but not undermining the GFA. Any dispute over the GFA would need to be addressed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). If the UK proceeding with no deals BREXIT, the Republic of Ireland could claim that this case will be referred to the ICJ as it would be breaching the GFA. Remember, the ruling of ICJ on GFA would hold more weight than the UK parliamentary motion or the UK law.  

     

The EU won’t re-negotiate BREXIT deal unless there is a clear and definite purpose to resolving BREXIT issue. Good leaders always keep their word. The UK government manifestly cannot keep its word. Yes, the EU made an error. It allowed BREXIT negotiations without pinning the UK government down in 2018 to a legal withdrawal agreement on December 2017. However, re-negotiating the BREXIT deal is something the EU has repeatedly said it won’t consider. The backstop was a reasonable compromise but BREXITERS hate it. Nowadays UK politics is becoming weirder than science fiction. Rewriting Plan A into Plan B or Plan C is simply not good enough. Your BREXIT deal has not been explained to the British electorate. Thus, it is not a legitimate one. Any BREXIT solution must alienate large sections of the British electorate as well as Irish border. In my opinion, the UK present political systems cannot manage the requirements of a deeply divided British electorate and not up to the task of managing the Irish border. The UK political systems failed to deliver the requirements of the large sections of the British electorate as they govern and agreeing the nature of the border in Ireland. BREXIT is heading for major crisis in multiple fronts.

Hon.Prime Minister, if you have been consulted the UK Parliament before deciding your red- lines, it could have been BREXIT solution that could be approved by MPs. However, I fervently hope that you will change your red-lines that could be approved by MPs. 

Thank you very much for your attention Hon. Prime Minister.

Respectfully yours

Athinarayanan Sanjeevraja.