When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, it was largely based on a desire to take back control of its borders.
While the UK was a member of the EU, trade and people moved relatively freely through the UK’s “soft” borders based on EU rules. Now, Brexit supporters argue, the UK can decide who and what gets into the UK by “hardening” the border.
This is a fairly complicated process for the UK’s maritime borders. And it has serious consequences for its only overland border — the one between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The question of how to regulate the Irish border has caused Brexit-EU negotiations to grind to a halt. That’s because the border wasn’t just open due to EU rules. It has been open for 20 years as a compromise that ended decades of violence in Ireland and as a symbol of identity in the country. Closing this border could undermine one of Europe’s greatest success stories.
Watch the video above to see why the Irish border is so important and why it’s such a difficult issue to solve, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to view all of our latest videos.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via
