AFP, LONDON: Leaders from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland said Friday that Brexit must not mean a “hard border” being put up between the two.
At an emergency meeting of the British Irish Council in Cardiff, called to discuss the aftermath of Britain’s vote last month to leave the European Union, they said it was fundamental that border checks would not be imposed along what what would be the EU’s land frontier with the United Kingdom.
The council brings together leaders from the Republic of Ireland; Britain; its devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and its crown dependencies Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The United Kingdom, the British crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland share a free-movement Common Travel Area (CTA) dating back to Irish independence in the 1920s.
“There are modern ways of not having hard borders,” Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said after the talks.