Editorial, August 29 2024: Starmer’s EU ‘reset’ not likely to solve Irish Sea border problems any time soon
Sir Keir Starmer travelled to the continent yesterday, where he intends to “reset our relationship with Europe”.
That promise will raise some people’s expectations, given the abiding issues created by the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework.
Unfortunately, before those problems get better, they are likely to get significantly worse.
New regulations come into force next month for business to business parcels.
That means companies from the mainland that post goods to firms here will have to register for the ‘internal market scheme’, which used to be called the ‘green lane’.
That involves extra costs and time and has already persuaded some traders to give up selling to Northern Ireland altogether.
To add to this woe, from October 1 more British food products will have to be labelled ‘not for EU’ to allow their sale here.
And in December, it will become even more difficult for GB businesses to trade here, as the EU introduces new product safety regulations. These include the need to have a legal representative based in the single market (or NI).
This grim vista proves how far agreements with the previous government were from actually removing the Irish Sea border. It also shows how misguided are arguments that claim our trading arrangements may be advantageous.
The PM has, admittedly, spoken frequently about a reset with Brussels.
However, he has also been reluctant to go into specifics and a new deal for NI has not been mentioned. Sir Keir actually implied that the government could impose the sea border more rigorously, in order to encourage a better relationship with the EU.
There is little point in putting too much store in his latest discussions with continental leaders, as it could lead to disappointment.