His BrexitDeal is noteworthy but was achieved mainly by making concessions
BORIS JOHNSON was in ebullient mood when he spoke to the press in Brussels on the evening of October 17th, even talking eagerly of his dinner plans. But his main goal was to persuade those watching, especially in Westminster, that he had secured what he called “a great deal for our country and for the EU”. He has less than 48 hours to win over MPs, who are due to vote on the agreement on October 19th, in a rare Saturday sitting.
So Mr Johnson has now accepted the alternative notion of customs and regulatory controls between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, ie, in the Irish Sea. Although he insists that Northern Ireland will still legally be part of UK customs territory, the effect of this concession is to turn what was a backstop for the whole country into a form of frontstop for Northern Ireland alone.
Beyond the provisions for Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson’s withdrawal agreement is essentially the same as Mrs May’s. But his ambitions for the future relationship, enshrined in a new political declaration, are different. Mrs May’s deal pointed to a comprehensive free-trade deal based on close alignment with the EU’s single-market rules. Mr Johnson’s aims instead at a more basic free-trade deal similar to Canada’s.
It starts with the ten MPs from the DUP, who have come out against the deal because they object to a border in the Irish Sea and also to the EU’s consent mechanism. Their opposition may be echoed by some Tory hardliners from the European Research Group, who have taken their cue from the DUP in the past.
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