EU backstop intervention leaves Ireland with unpalatable choices

Did the commission spokesman misspeak about a hard border? That would be very odd

Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 01:00

Pat Leahy

Tánaiste Simon Coveney again insisted that Ireland would “not accept” a hard border. Photograph: Tom Honan

The European Commission tends not to do things by accident. It’s not that sort of organisation.

So when commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told the daily press briefing in Brussels yesterday that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, “you will have a hard border” in Ireland, alarm bells sounded in Dublin.

Please subscribe or to continue reading.

EU backstop intervention leaves Ireland with unpalatable choices

Did the commission spokesman misspeak about a hard border? That would be very odd

Insightful opinion is just a away.

Most Read

1 Unionism not emotionally ready for conversation about united Ireland

2 Robert Watt may seek to rein in Tony Holohan

3 Covid-19 vaccine registration system to open for 65-69 year olds tomorrow

4 Tenant promises to pay compensation after removing rafters from house

5 Online banking: Are we getting less but paying more?

6 Cork Airport to close for 10 weeks to allow major runway reconstruction

7 Galen Weston, owner of Brown Thomas and Arnotts, has died

8 Q&A: What now for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines?

9 State facing pressure from EU countries after expanding quarantine list

10 Dublin is fifth most expensive place for renters in Europe

11 The Khmer Rouge controversy: Why colourising old photos is always a falsification of history

12 How not to give your friends a ‘digital slap in the face’: Social media dos and don’ts

13 Gordon D’Arcy: Béibhinn Parsons is the gift, IRFU must now do the giving

14 Woman who took High Court case released from hotel quarantine

15 Four Leinster players nominated for European Player of the Year award

16 Food and mood: Why nutritional psychiatry is attracting attention

17 Scramble to fix problems with vaccination and mandatory quarantine

18 City councillors block sale of Dublin's Plough Pub

19 ‘Bill Gates is in my bloodstream’: Mick Jagger releases Covid-themed track

20 Bookings for State’s mandatory hotel quarantine system paused, Donnelly confirms

21 Róisín Ingle: I am, I realise, a bit institutionalised

22 Q&A: Can different Covid-19 vaccines be mixed?

23 Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker: What's available in the Republic of Ireland and what else is coming?

24 ‘I just want to be home’: Passengers scramble for the last pre-quarantine flight from Paris

25 Kathy Sheridan: The online threat to the integrity of Irish elections lies within

26 Seedorf wants to ban players from covering their mouth while talking

27 Irish private equity firm Erisbeg raises €75m to target SMEs

28 Teenage girl (18) jailed for a year for her role in petrol bomb attack

29 Former Central Bank employee arrested over alleged conspiracy

30 Son of Christine Keeler selling Longford retreat for €187,500

31 New era for Kilkenny Group as Marian O’Gorman steps down after 22 years

32 Michael McDowell: Border poll talk is putting the cart before the horse

33 Irish hospital doctors on long Covid: Athletic people are ‘inordinately affected’

34 Maternity leave during lockdown has its advantages

35 Dacia’s new Sandero hit with two-star safety rating

36 ‘Our mother is caring but volatile and is causing rifts in our family’

37 Arizona firm to buy Irish subprime loans at 75% discount

38 Mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers would be ‘most intrusive step’ - regulator

39 HSE cancels all AstraZeneca vaccine clinics for rest of this week

40 AstraZeneca – much caution, little risk?

Sign In

Don't have an account?