The intractable problem is that Britain does not understand the EU

In six years of Brexit one thing has become overwhelmingly clear: Britain thinks little and understands less about Ireland. In the lead up to the referendum the border was conspicuous in its absence from debates. And since the vote every single workable solution has been ravaged by Brexiteers. And the latest delusion is that this is all somehow the European Union’s fault.

Boris Johnson himself might not have any grip on the details of Northern Ireland, or any sense of its spirit. But he is perfectly capable of surrounding himself with people who do. So the unavoidable conclusion is not that he can’t understand the mess he’s created, but that he simply does not care. And malign insouciance is a far worse charge than mere foolishness.

His interests are clear. Any time Johnson needs a domestic win, Northern Ireland will be sacrificed at an altar of political expediency. With the North as his pawn, he confects a fight with the EU to cast himself as Britain’s heroic defender, and his enemies as Remainer saboteurs. This, of course, wouldn’t be a necessary tactic if Brexit were not the administration’s sole political calling card.

It is a novel approach for the Conservative and Unionist Party to take. But under Johnson’s watch it has done everything to dishonour its own name. When the government announced it would renege on its commitment to the Northern Ireland Protocol, it was clear it had torn up the Conservative hymn sheet. And now, as they blatantly lie to their international colleagues and insult the intelligence of their friends, it is clear they are totally devoid of principle.

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But when it comes to the current headache over the protocol – and, in fact, with every political impasse of the past six years – something runs deeper than the callousness and moral lassitude. The intractable problem is that Britain does not understand the European Union.

Euroscepticism is encoded in Britain’s DNA, a nation long uncomfortable with the polity and its direction of travel.

The Eurosceptic press harks on about the bloc’s lack of charity, its rigidity, its obstinance and its irritating technocrats. It cannot understand why Britain cannot receive familial privileges even after it has elected for emancipation. It believes that everything can be worked out with a few under-the-rug compromises and a so-called “fudge” over the Northern Irish border. And it seems incapable of accepting the most basic reality of all: leaving the Single Market means there has to be a border somewhere.

Meanwhile the EU’s modus operandi is to adhere to its systems of rules with profound inflexibility. Its overriding interest is protecting its internal market at all costs. It is interested in the letter of the law, not Johnson’s casuistries.

And now that Britain poses a threat to its market, the EU is behaving in exactly the way everyone expected. And somehow, after all these years of negotiations and 47 more of membership, Brexiteers are feigning shock. Having published the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, granting ministers the right to tear the international agreement to shreds, the EU has resumed legal action against the UK. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic did not mince his words: “Let’s call a spade a spade: this is illegal.”

[ Explainer: How does the UK want to change the Northern Ireland protocol? ]

Posturing

What Brexiteers cannot stomach is that after all of their posturing, and after vastly overestimating Britain’s political leverage, they cannot get concessions from the EU. Instead, they have caused the bloc to harden its stance.

But Johnson wants the EU to work like he does: hashing things out, figuring out the details later, relying on quick fixes and rhetorical flourishes as cover for bad thinking. This is not necessarily a good way to run a country, but the Eurosceptics have their point too. When they lament the EU, which is just so rigid and technocratic, they are not wrong. There is a reason why they don’t like the organisation and why they voted to leave it in the first place: they don’t even speak the same language.

Euroscepticism is encoded in Britain’s DNA, a nation long uncomfortable with the polity and its direction of travel. Brexiteers did not like to witness a trading bloc morph into a close political union with France and Germany at its epicentre. Britain never adopted the euro or the Schengen agreement. The EU and the United Kingdom have always been uncomfortable bedfellows.

These are all legitimate positions to hold. Euroscepticism is not inherently wrong in spite of several Remainer beliefs. And there was too much hostility borne to Britain from European officials at several points in recent years. Ultimately, there were versions of Brexit that could have worked for the mutual benefit of everyone. Unfortunately, these paths were not taken and now Westminster sees a plot, designed in Brussels and carried out in Northern Ireland, to kill any success the project could have.

Britain and the EU might not understand each other. But the real charge is far more damning: they never even bothered to try.