Opinion

Newton Emerson: 'Mutual enforcement' could provide Brexit borders fix

Traffic crosses the border at Bridgend between Donegal and Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Traffic crosses the border at Bridgend between Donegal and Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Traffic crosses the border at Bridgend between Donegal and Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

THE EU has paused legal action against the UK for alleged breaches of the Brexit protocol, saying it wants to create the “necessary space” to consider new UK proposals.

Coming days after the UK rejected EU proposals for mitigation, this represents a significant unilateral de-escalation by Brussels - or a bit of a climbdown, if we must use confrontational terms. The EU seems to be accepting parts of the protocol are unworkable and cannot be fixed by just repeating that London agreed to them.

One idea to watch out for in the coming months is ‘mutual enforcement’, with the UK and EU making it an offence to move goods over the land border that have not been cleared to do so at the sea border.

For example, a supermarket could import containers freely from Britain but face fines or worse of any of its products later turned up in Dundalk. No enforcement would be required at the border itself.

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There has been widespread condemnation after east Belfast’s first Irish-language pre-school, Naíscoil na Seolta, announced it will not be opening in September at a site at Braniel Primary, following what Braniel describes as “an ongoing social media hate campaign” by “people not connected to the school, nor parents of the school”.

The main printable objection on social media is that there was no consultation with the local community. The Education Authority usually conducts a consultation exercise when a primary opens a nursery unit. Community support or opposition can be noted, as can petitions.

This was not necessary at Braniel because it was renting the nursery a temporary site, rather than adding a nursery unit - Braniel Primary already has its own nursery unit. Failure to explain this provided the excuse for complaints.

It also means the authorities have missed a chance to make it clear you cannot object to an Irish-language school just because you object to Irish.

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Arlene Foster has raised eyebrows by joining GB News as a contributor, although this is hardly as striking a political-media crossover as when former UTV co-hosts Mike Nesbitt and Fearghal McKinney were UUP leader and SDLP deputy leader.

If anything looks off with Foster’s new role it is the contrast with her other new role as chair of the Castlereagh Foundation, to which she was appointed this month by the secretary of state.

The foundation is a New Decade, New Approach body sought by the DUP to “support academic research through universities and other partners to explore identity and the shifting patterns of social identity in Northern Ireland”.

The gravitas of this could be somewhat undermined by appearing as a talking head on a partisan culture-war media outlet. As an occasional contributor to Talkback, I offer this observation without judgement.

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Sinn Féin and the SDLP are engaged in a desperate battle to take credit for Casement Park after SDLP infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon was able to announce planning approval for the stadium, as planning for major projects falls under her department.

Mallon then innocently told the BBC the executive should meet the £30 million funding shortfall that has built up during the nine years it has taken to achieve approval, adding that sadly this falls to other departments.

That kicked the ball to Sinn Fein sports minister Deirdre Hargey, who must sign off a new business case, and Sinn Féin finance minister Conor Murphy, who must find the extra money.

Building Casement is a commitment in New Decade, New Approach, which will define the inevitable horse-trading with the DUP. “Sub-regional stadia” for football are the balancing item in the deal.

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Nichola Mallon has launched a public consultation into Belfast’s new north-south Glider line.

Documents reveal the route is not expected to be operational until September 2027 at the earliest - over six years away. This is for a project already years in the making, with funding agreed three years ago through the Belfast city deal.

Almost the entire length of the new route is already a high-quality bus lane as the consultation is essentially choosing two Metro bus routes, north and south, to link up through the city centre. Does this really have to take longer than World War II?

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The biggest development in touting since the Troubles is underway with plans by the departments of justice and infrastructure to introduce ‘Operation Snap’.

This is an online system used by police forces in England and Wales that allows members of the public to submit dashcam or mobile phone footage of driving offences.

Technical and legal standardisation greatly speeds up the processing of submissions, with Welsh forces saying it has cut the time officers spend on each case from 15 hours to three.

The system cannot be used here because the law requires careless driving to be dealt with by the courts. However, if Stormont legislates to reduce it to a fixed penalty offence, everyone can suddenly become a Traffic Branch reservist.

Downgrading a crime to tackle it might seem counter-intuitive but the sheer volume of enforcement Operation Snap makes possible could transform behaviour on our roads.