Opinion

North's 'exceptional position' must guide Brexit deal

BREXIT negotiations reach a crucial and possibly decisive phase next week, with Thursday being prime minister Boris Johnson's deadline for a trade deal between Britain and the European Union.

Mr Johnson has said he will walk away from the talks if an agreement isn't struck by then, though the EU has indicated it would be possible to continue negotiations until the end of the month and still have time for the 27 member states to ratify a deal.

The prime minister is entirely capable of carrying through with his threat. He has shown his willingness to stymie the negotiations as recently as last month, with the Internal Market Bill and its flagrant breach of international law.

One must hope that the cautiously optimistic assessment of the prospects of a deal that Taoiseach Micheál Martin shared with this newspaper's political correspondent John Manley yesterday is indeed correct.

All this is of profound importance to Northern Ireland, which is uniquely exposed to the vicissitudes of a Brexit the majority of its voters rejected.

This has been reflected in contributions from beyond the world of politics, with Ireland's Churches making a thoughtful contribution this week.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the Catholic Church and the main Protestant denominations spoke of how the Good Friday Agreement, with its framework for building relationships and bridging differences, should serve as a "source of inspiration" for the Brexit negotiators.

In a further intervention, the northern Catholic bishops and the Northern Ireland Catholic Council on Social Affairs have written to Mr Martin, Mr Johnson, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and US officials including Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, and special envoy Mick Mulvaney.

They have appealed for the "exceptional position of Northern Ireland" to be accommodated in any Brexit deal.

Unfortunately, this is by no means guaranteed. As the bishops point out, the British government has already announced it is prepared to ignore its legal obligations in the Withdrawal Agreement. This has prompted fears that border infrastructure could return.

Even if this were only for customs and trade checks, it would be "a dangerous backward step", they warn.

Central to their concern is the acknowledgement, which lies at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement, that "this is a shared home place".

It is imperative that this unique identity is fully respected as the Brexit talks enter their final days.