Open figure viewer
Significance
The UK government remains divided over how its relations with the EU’s customs union should be arranged after Brexit, while the EU is unimpressed by any of the suggestions put forward by London to date. This issue is central to both the future EU-UK trade relationship and the debate about how to resolve the question of the intra-Irish border.
Impacts
Any physical infrastructure on the Irish border would become a target for violence.
A hard border could increase support for Irish reunification among Northern Irish Catholics.
Different customs regimes in the EU and the United Kingdom could lead to smuggling.
Keywords:
United Kingdom,
EU,
EUR,
Ireland,
Northern Ireland,
EU/UK,
economy,
international relations,
politics,
border conflict,
foreign trade,
crime,
government,
infrastructure,
party,
security
© Oxford Analytica 2020. All rights reserved. This content contains general information about geopolitical, macroeconomic and social developments or (where stated) other matters. It does not contain advice or recommendations that may be relied on. Where links to external websites are provided, this does not indicate that Oxford Analytica or Emerald agree with, endorse or have checked for accuracy the contents of said sites.
2018
You do not currently have access to this content.
