歐盟要求英國(guó)接受北愛爾蘭“留歐”

The EU is demanding Britain accept that Northern Ireland may need to remain inside the European customs union and single market after Brexit in order to avoid “a hard border on the island of Ireland”.

歐盟(EU)要求英國(guó)接受一點(diǎn)，即北愛爾蘭可能需要在英國(guó)退歐后留在歐洲關(guān)稅同盟和單一市場(chǎng)內(nèi)，以避免“愛爾蘭島上出現(xiàn)一條硬邊界”。

The explicit mention of an “all-island” approach by Dublin and Brussels directly contradicts the UK position and will infuriate the Democratic Unionist party, on whose votes Theresa May’s government depends for a parliamentary majority at Westminster.

愛爾蘭和歐盟明確提到的“全島”方式，與英國(guó)的立場(chǎng)發(fā)生直接沖突，并將激怒北愛民主聯(lián)盟黨(Democratic Unionist party)。在威斯敏斯特，特里薩•梅(Theresa May)政府要靠該黨的票在國(guó)會(huì)占據(jù)多數(shù)。

The European Commission on Wednesday circulated an update on negotiations, seen by the Financial Times, which concludes that the avoidance of “regulatory divergence” on the island of Ireland is “essential” to protect the peace process.

周三，歐盟委員會(huì)(European Commission)傳閱了一份英國(guó)退歐談判最新通報(bào)。英國(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》看到的這份文件得出結(jié)論稱，避免愛爾蘭島上發(fā)生“監(jiān)管分歧”對(duì)保護(hù)和平進(jìn)程“至關(guān)重要”。

“It consequently seems essential for the UK to commit to ensuring that a hard border on the island of Ireland is avoided, including by ensuring no emergence of regulatory divergence from those rules of the internal market and the customs union,” the paper states.

“因此，英國(guó)似乎有必要致力于確保避免愛爾蘭島上出現(xiàn)一條硬邊界，辦法包括確保內(nèi)部市場(chǎng)和關(guān)稅同盟兩者的規(guī)則不發(fā)生監(jiān)管分歧，”這份文件稱。

The commission adds that the regulatory arrangements “are (or may be in the future) necessary for meaningful North-South co-operation, the all-island economy and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement”.

歐盟委員會(huì)補(bǔ)充稱，這種監(jiān)管安排對(duì)于“有意義的北南合作、全島經(jīng)濟(jì)和保護(hù)《耶穌受難日協(xié)議》(The Good Friday Agreement，亦稱《北愛和平協(xié)議》)是(或者也許未來(lái)是)必要的”。

The statement comes days after James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary, made clear that it would be “impossible” to imagine Belfast remaining within the EU’s customs union and single market, in effect creating a trade border along the Irish Sea after Brexit.

幾天前，英國(guó)北愛爾蘭事務(wù)大臣詹姆斯•布羅肯希爾(James Brokenshire)明確表示，“無(wú)法”想象北愛爾蘭留在歐盟的關(guān)稅同盟和單一市場(chǎng)內(nèi)，那實(shí)際上等于在英國(guó)退歐后沿愛爾蘭海(Irish Sea)創(chuàng)造出一條貿(mào)易邊界。

“We will leave the EU in 2019 as one United Kingdom,” Mr Brokenshire said in Brussels on Monday. “We need to ensure that nothing is done that undermines the integrity of the UK single market.”

“我們將在2019年作為一個(gè)整個(gè)的英國(guó)退出歐盟，”布羅肯希爾周一在布魯塞爾說(shuō)，“我們需要確保不做任何破壞英國(guó)單一市場(chǎng)完整性的事情。”

He added: “I find it difficult to image how Northern Ireland could somehow remain in while the rest of the country leaves. I find it impossible.”

他接著說(shuō)：“我覺得很難想象在這個(gè)國(guó)家的其余部分退出之后，北愛爾蘭如何能以某種方式留下來(lái)。我覺得這不可能。”

The commission stance on the potential need for an all-island regulatory solution reflects the hardening position in Dublin over border issues as the Brexit divorce negotiations enter a critical phase.

歐盟委員會(huì)對(duì)可能需要一種“全島”監(jiān)管方案的態(tài)度反映出，在英國(guó)退歐談判進(jìn)入關(guān)鍵階段之際，愛爾蘭在邊界問題上的立場(chǎng)正趨于強(qiáng)硬。