In interviews with several European newspapers, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair warns that Britain’s withdrawal from the EU will have considerable consequences for peace in Northern Ireland. The Brexit is an attack on a “core” of the peace agreement between Catholic and Protestant Ireland agreed today exactly 20 years ago, which was concluded on 10 April 1998 with Blair’s help after almost 30 years of civil war.
Blair raises serious allegations against the government of Theresa May, which was determined to leave the customs union and the domestic market with the EU, making checks on goods and persons in the future inevitable. However, open borders were a prerequisite for the concluded peace agreement at the time. The Brexit could also cause the violence of that time to flare up again. “The symmetry of relations between Ireland, the UK and the EU will be broken by the Brexit,” Blair said.
In an article for United Europe in 2014, Blair has already warned that “if Europe does not establish a proper raison d’etre soon, then I fear bad and short term politics will drive out the real opportunity to make the case for a strong and integrated Europe as a vital part of a peaceful and prosperous 21st Century world”. You can read his comment in full length here.