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Bruce Arnold, OBE, penned a scathing review of the EU and the effect Brexit will have on Ireland, which will be the UK’s only land border with the bloc. With Prime Minister Theresa May set to trigger Article 50 in the coming weeks, kick-starting the formal two-year process to leave the bloc, lengthy talks are expected which will include how to police the border. Trade, the single market, travel restrictions and the rights of EU nationals in the UK are all among the issues to be worked out in the coming years. Mr Arnold, a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, warned of the implications Brexit would have for Ireland and the EU, which may have been the catalyst for the breaking up of the EU.

GETTY•EPA•REUTERS Bruce Arnold, OBE, penned a scathing review of the EU and the effect Brexit will have

Images from inside the House of Lords: Peers have voted to guarantee EU citizens' rights Wed, March 1, 2017 The House of Lords voted overwhelmingly in favour of an amendment to the Prime Minister’s proposed Brexit legislation Play slideshow PA 1 of 11 A packed House of Lords, London, as the Government is facing possible defeat in the House of Lords as peers push for guarantees over the rights of EU nationals living in the UK after Brexit

He wrote in the Irish Independent: “If the EU imposes conditions on Britain that would make trade and travel between our countries difficult, then we will leave the EU immediately. “Of course that has to be on the assumption that there will be any EU to leave. “We face, on the way into the future, the French Presidential election. We need to confront the vital needs of the Italians. They need to devalue.

GETTY Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 in the coming weeks

“Then there is the election in The Netherlands. And Greece is confronting financial disaster. “It is beginning to look as though we might be the first people to jump into the lifeboats before the ship blows up.” The elections across the continent are in reference to the rise of Eurosceptic parties, which have signalled they may too look at severing ties with Brussels.

We will leave the EU immediately Bruce Arnold

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the Front National (FN) in France, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and the Five Star movement in Italy have all voiced their discontent with how the bloc is run. Mr Arnold raised concerns over unelected bureaucrats, and far-flung countries, having a decisive say on issues solely relating to Ireland and Irish affairs.

PH He noted the potential effects Brexit may have on the Irish economy and trade

He said: “We would be lunatics to allow Hungary or Poland to have any say about the border in Ireland or about our trade relations. “They don't give a damn about the subject any more than we care about Poland's relationship with the Ukraine.

GETTY Mr Arnold raised concerns over unelected bureaucrats