KEEP THE PEACE
Joe Biden fires Brexit warning shot at Boris Johnson saying he doesn’t want to see hard Irish border
JOE Biden has fired a Brexit warning shot at Boris Johnson by declaring he does not want to see a so-called hard Irish border.
The US President-elect spoke out as he revealed he had already discussed the tricky issue with the British PM and other European leaders.
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"We do not want a guarded border," he told reporters last night. "We want to make sure we work hard to get Ireland worked out.
"I've talked with the British prime minister; I've talked with the Taoiseach; I've talked with others and I've talked with the French.
"The idea of having the border north and south once again being closed, it's just not right. We've just got to keep the border open."
He discussed Brexit with the British PM earlier this month during one of his first phone calls to other world leaders as president-elect.
Back then he warned his British counterpart that Brexit must not jeopardize the Northern Ireland peace process.
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Biden also touched upon the 1998 Good Friday agreement during his presidential campaign.
He tweeted in September: "We can't allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.
"Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period."
The British government is seeking a trade deal with the EU but says it is willing to leave without one.
That could complicate the situation at the fragile Northern Irish border with Ireland - which is the UK's only land border with the EU.
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Biden has a close personal connection to Ireland, with, where his great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt was born.
He left Ireland in 1850 and settled in the US, only returning to his homeland a year later to bring his parents and siblings to the States.
And earlier this year, he jokingly told the BBC "I'm Irish" when asked for an interview.
Just last week it was reported Biden is , which is being seen by some as a snub to Britain.
What is the issue with the Irish border?
Britain, Ireland and the EU all say they want to avoid physical checks on the border.
It was marked by military checkpoints before a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence that cost around 3,600 lives.
Currently the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is open with no checks on goods or people.
Ireland and the UK are in a "common travel area" of passport-free movement.
And as they are both in the EU single market, there is no restriction on goods and no tariffs.
Fears have been raised a so-called hard border could spark a return to violence, harm businesses on either side of the border and make travel difficult.
If the UK leaves the customs union and the single market that could mean goods would have to be checked as they crossed the border.
And in the event of a no deal Brexit, it would be difficult to remain in the single market and keep the border open.
The move would be a blow to the "special relationship" between the and UK which has blossomed during Donald Trump's time in the White House.
According to the , government sources in see a Biden White House as a “double-lock” on the Brexit issue.
There is a belief within Ireland that a Biden administration would be less instinctively friendly to Johnson’s government than the Trump White House.
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