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The Committee publishes this report as part of its ongoing inquiry into the implications of the EU Withdrawal Agreement for Northern Ireland. The report notes that although the UK, Ireland and the EU agree there will be no return to the border of the past on the island of Ireland, disagreement over how to achieve it has brought the negotiations to a standstill and increased the likelihood of no deal or the possibility of not leaving at all.
The Committee believes that a key obstacle to finding a technical solution to the border is a lack of trust and goodwill. However, "the balance of the evidence suggests that such a solution is possible and that it could be designed, trialled and piloted within the 21 month implementation period." But the Committee notes that implementation of what have become known as alternative solutions is not a simple, quick-fix but would constitute a highly sophisticated "world first", and that it would be a substantial achievement.
The Committee perceives that the UK and EU have taken different approaches to the stated joint aim of avoiding a hard border. This may indicate a difference in overall desired outcome from the Brexit process and also of what is understood to be a hard border. The report stresses that, ultimately, the UK and the EU must agree on a definition of hard border. That would help to build trust and facilitate shared understanding of what a future relationship, that can supersede the backstop, could look like.
The Committee recommends the following steps to help break the deadlock:
Full report: The Northern Ireland backstop and the border: interim report