Europe

No UK-Irish ‘hard border’, leaders pledge

Prime ministers say customs checks will not be reinstated between Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland

Michael Sercan Daventry  | 26.07.2016 - Update : 26.07.2016
No UK-Irish ‘hard border’, leaders pledge British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny hold a joint press conference after their meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, England, United Kingdom on July 26, 2016. ( British Prime Ministry - Anadolu Agency )

London, City of

By Michael Sercan Daventry

LONDON

There will be no “hard border” between the U.K. and Ireland following the U.K.’s decision to leave the EU, local media reported Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and her Irish counterpart Enda Kenny agreed that checkpoints would not return to the only land frontier between Ireland and the U.K.

“A hard border in normal circumstances means customs posts and customs checks in various places,” Kenny said at a news conference in London, according to the Irish Times.

“There will be no return to the hard border between the republic and Northern Ireland of the past… So I do not favor, I do not agree, to a hard border with a whole range of customs posts and neither does the prime minister.”

The leaders said they had committed to regular meetings to ensure Britain’s future exit from the EU does not damage trade ties or peace in Northern Ireland, which was the scene of a 30-year conflict.

May said there was a “strong will on both sides” to preserve the open border. “It is in all our interests to work together to safeguard our national security and the outcome of the referendum will not undermine it,” she said.

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