Brexit Bill agreed... so now to border
Breakthrough as EU ‘set to accept UK offer of up to €55bn’ Focus now turns to North but Britain is eyeing up next phase
‘Moment of truth is approaching’
THE EU and Britain are believed to have reached an agreement on the Brexit divorce bill, meaning – as far as Ireland is concerned at least – full attention can now turn to Brexit Phase One’s most challenging strand: the Irish border.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet agreed to raise the UK’s divorce offer last week in a bid to break the deadlock blocking the start of trade talks next month.
Negotiators agreed at a meeting in Brussels that Britain will pay between €45billion and €55billion, EU sources revealed.
And last night Brussels sources hinted that the offer would be enough to persuade the EU to sanction the start of trade talks at a crunch summit in Brussels next month, provided agreement is also reached on citizens’ rights and the Irish border.
The divorce bill deal was controversial, with some Conservative MPs urging Mrs May to walk away rather than pay.
Phase One of the Brexit talks include Britain’s financial settlement, the rights of citizens, and the status of the border.
Now, Britain is keen to move the talks to Phase Two, so it can kick-start key trade discussions. And with the bones of a deal on the divorce bill and the rights of expatriate citizens in place, Downing Street will be itching to discuss trade.
But the Irish Government and the EU have insisted that solid proposals on the border must be on the table before talks can move on. Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney said EU leaders agree that trade talks cannot start unless Britain offers further assurances there will be no hard border. He also said that Ireland will not need to use its veto to prevent progress in Brexit talks, because EU negotiators will block it themselves if the UK does not offer a workable border solution.
Mr Coveney said he had received personal assurances from senior EU figures Michel Barnier, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday that Brussels would hold firm on this demand.
‘They have repeated the message that Ireland’s problems are the EU’s problem, so Ireland is not going to be isolated and forced to use a veto,’ Mr Coveney said.
All 28 EU leaders will come together in Brussels on December 14 and 15 for a crunch summit.
The EU has said progress needs to have been made on all elements of the Phase One talks before it can endorse a move to a new phase, which includes future trade relations.
The UK’s improved offer last week is contingent on the EU agreeing to a comprehensive trade deal. Mrs May is hoping it will trigger a breakthrough at next month’s Brussels meeting. After Mr Juncker and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier consider the offer, EU leaders will then decide whether to give the green light to trade talks at the Brussels summit. Mr Barnier hinted at the breakthrough earlier this week when he said: ‘The moment of truth is approaching.’
Meanwhile, a Conservative politician left Channel 4 News viewers baffled yesterday following comments that next year’s presidential campaign in Ireland was impacting on Brexit talks. Speaking on the show, Iain Duncan Smith said that there is a lot of ‘showboating’ going on in Irish politics. ‘I think a lot of things are in the making of this,’ he said when asked about a possibility of Ireland vetoing Brexit talks.
‘There’s an election about to go on in Ireland, a presidential election, and of course the key point about that is I think the present government is feeling very worried about Sinn Féin.’