Dr. Kieran McQuinn:

More generally, there has been almost universal unanimity on the European side during the negotiation process, which I touched on earlier. The EU has very much stood with Ireland and has taken a unified stance. However, if the UK were to consider reducing standards, particularly when it comes to agricultural produce, that could potentially give rise to all sorts of tensions within the European Union. For example, how might the French negotiators respond to that situation if there were a better deal on the table for German car manufacturers? Many potential tensions within the European Union could be awoken if the UK were to follow that course of action, particularly as far as food and agriculture are concerned.