Passport checks are highly unlikely: the EU signalled in its negotiation guidelines that it would like to see a codified version of the 1920s common travel agreement – which means passport-free travel for Irish and British citizens between the two islands – included in a final deal. [...]
Trade and services between the two sides now flourishes. Between 23,000 and 30,000 people commute across the border – a figure that discounts “frontier workers” such as community nurses or farmers who go back and forth across the border several times a day. [...]
The former European commission customs lawyer, Michael Dux, drew gasps from MPs on the Northern Ireland select committee in February, as he told how every vehicle carrying goods worth more than €300 (£264) crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland would, under EU law, be liable for checks. [...]
One solution mooted is to move the border checks to ports and airports under a new unilateral agreement along the lines of the treaty of Le Touquet, which allows French border police to carry out immigration entry checks in Dover and British police to operate in Calais.
Technically, it is also possible that the customs checks on goods can be conducted electronically, with trusted trader status for regular cross-border freight and spot checks for standards.
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