Boris Johnson ‘surprised’ by level of Irish border checks.
I KNOW Boris is not that stupid.
@JohnPhilpin Countries only have to have border checks, if they want to. When I drove from N. Ireland to the Republic in the early 1980's, security was tight on the UK side but once I got into Ireland the customs house was a tiny converted 1920's gas station with one guy in a sweater reading the newspaper.
ME: Do you need to check my passport and stamp it?
Irish Customs Guy: Only if you want me to.
Back then, Ireland was not guarding their side of the border.
My point is, it's only EU regulations that require Ireland to have border checks. The UK does not have to institute border checks if they don't want to.
@bradenslen re
“The UK does not have to institute border checks if they don't want to.”
I think Brexit was mainly about border checks - if we leave and keep borders porus ... not sure if anybody would be happy about that
@JohnPhilpin It’s very much about border checks. Since 1992 there has been a single market for goods and services within the EU and freedom of movement for people. One person in the 80s was neither here nor there but now there will have to be controls on shipping to ensure the standards of both sides of the border are maintained. The EU’s (legitimate) concern is the without a border Northern Ireland will become a gateway for the unscrupulous to the whole of Europe.