Border threat is very real - A quickly changing Europe

THE relief felt that Hungarian prime minster Viktor Orban’s campaign to reject a European Union refugees’ quota system has failed must be tempered by the fact that, of those who voted, 98% rejected the EU policy and supported the anti- immigrant Orban. 

However, Hungarian law decrees that more than 50% of voters must endorse any decision before it can be made law. Only 45% voted in Sunday’s referendum.

That welcome must be tempered, too, by the darkening clouds encouraged by the announcement that Britain will trigger article 50 in late March. Yesterday, sterling fell to a three-year low against the euro, but British shares reached a 16-month high. Sterling’s slide will put further pressure on Irish exporters selling into Britain — in July, alone, we sent goods worth €1,075m to Britain.

It is certain that as each side in the ‘Britexit’ divorce tries to gain advantage, swords will be rattled in scabbards rusty from lack of use. However, yesterday’s warning from Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, that the reinstatement of a hard border on this island “cannot be ruled out”, must be taken most seriously. This dread thought is in prospect, despite the fact that Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU and that we had no say in the matter, good, bad or indifferent.

These will be marathon negotiations and we must do all we can, and so must our EU allies, to ensure that Britain’s plans for a brave new world do not impinge unduly on ours.