LONDON: Britain will decide on the Irish border issue only once talks about its post-Brexit arrangements with the European Union are under way, trade minister Liam Fox reiterated Sunday.
The British government’s insistence on the stance is increasingly at odds with Irish demands for guarantees, ahead of a mid-December summit when EU leaders will decide if Brexit talks can move on to trade.
The impasse threatens to scupper hopes in London that “sufficient progress” has been made on the border, as well as citizens’ rights and its divorce bill to leave the bloc, to move the negotiations into the next phase.
“We don’t want there to be a hard border but the UK is going to be leaving the customs union and the single market,” Fox, a leading Brexiteer in the Cabinet, said on television.
“But we can’t get a final answer to the Irish question until we get an idea of the end state — and until we get into discussions with the EU on the end state that will be very difficult.”
He added: “So the quicker we can do that the better.”
Fox’s comments came as Phil Hogan, the Irish Republic’s EU agriculture commissioner, restated his country’s threat to block Brexit talks progress unless it receives firm assurances of no hard border on the island.
Ireland has urged Britain — or just Northern Ireland — to remain within the single market or customs union, which Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly ruled out.
Hogan told a British Sunday newspaper that May’s ministers had “blind faith” in reaching a comprehensive free trade deal, and warned Dublin would “continue to play tough to the end” over the border.
Arlene Foster, the leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party — which props up May’s minority Conservative government in Westminster — also weighed in, saying her party opposed any internal trade barrier within the UK. She also accused the Irish government of intransigence.
Meanwhile John McDonnell, Britain’s shadow chancellor, said he was “worried” by Fox’s comments and remaining in the customs union or single market should remain an option.
UK, Irish split on border as key Brexit deadline nears
UK, Irish split on border as key Brexit deadline nears
Pro-Palestine protest planned in Sydney against Israeli President Herzog’s visit
- Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach
SYDNEY: Pro-Palestine demonstrators plan to rally in Sydney on Monday to protest the visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as authorities declared his visit a major event and deployed thousands of police to manage the crowds.
Police have urged the protesters to gather at a central Sydney park for public safety reasons, but protest organizers said they plan to rally at the city’s historic Town Hall instead.
Police have been authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.
“We’re hoping we won’t have to use any powers, because we’ve been liaising very closely with the protest organizers,” New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.
“Overall, it is all of the community that we want to keep safe ... we’ll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe.”
About 3,000 police personnel will be deployed across Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
He is expected to meet survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the December 14 shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”
Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major cities across Australia, and the Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge in a Sydney court against restrictions placed on the expected protests.
“A national day of protest will be held today, calling for the arrest and investigation of Isaac Herzog, who has been found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have incited genocide in Gaza,” the Palestine Action Group said in a statement.
The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
