Flanagan: we’re not there yet on Brexit, it has to be in writing
REPORTS that Britain would remain in a temporary customs union with the EU is ‘speculation’ and talks are under ‘a rapidly ticking clock’, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said.
He was reacting to a Sunday Times report that the EU would allow the creation of a whole-UK customs union that would avoid the need for a Northern Ireland border deal that has been at the heart of the impasse in negotiations.
At the same time, it reported that British Prime Minister Theresa May was on course to agree a future economic partnership that would leave open the possibility of looser Canada-style free trade deal sought by Brexiteers.
However, Mr Flanagan said that a deal has not yet been reached. ‘It must be seen in the context of a rapidly ticking clock as we move towards the end of the year and as we move towards timelines needing to be met,’ he said.
‘And I believe it is important at this stage, having regard to all the sensitivities involved, that there be room given to the negotiating team and to the [EU] taskforce to head towards concluding their work.
‘I believe it is important to reflect on the fact that the Irish priorities are very much in evidence. And in that regard, it is absolutely essential now that we see the written legal text that is the backstop,’ he said.
The Minister told RTÉ’s This Week that he accepts ‘progress has been made’.
A spokesman for Tánaiste Simon Coveney agreed that a ‘running commentary’ from the media was not helping the talks and said that the Sunday Times article was written for a British audience.
He insisted that a deal on Northern Ireland ‘backstop’ or customs deal, will have to be in writing – even if there was an overall UK deal.
‘While we too hope the Northern Ireland backstop will never be required to be used, it will be required to be written down in legal text,’ he said. ‘This has been committed to by the UK in order to have a withdrawal agreement. We hope a deal can be done but we’re not there yet. The negotiators are working hard and a running commentary isn’t helpful.
‘However, Donald Tusk, Michel Barnier, Jean-Claude Juncker and indeed Theresa May herself, have all said there will not be a deal without a legal guarantee of no hard border in Ireland. While we, too, hope the Northern Ireland backstop will never be required to be used – it will be required to be written down in legal text as committed to by the UK in order to have a withdrawal agreement.
‘We hope a deal can be done but we’re not there yet.’
Britain’s communities secretary, James Brokenshire, was broadly in agreement with Mr Flanagan, saying that talks are still continuing.
Mr Brokenshire, appearing on Sky’s Ridge On Sunday, was asked if a deal was close, replying: ‘Negotiations are still very firmly continuing, and therefore we are 95% of the way there in relation to the Withdrawal Agreement.
‘Obviously still having this issue in relation to the insurance arrangements for Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that very much remains our focus and attention in getting that deal.’
A Downing Street spokeswoman added: ‘We are making good progress on the future relationship, and 95% of the Withdrawal Agreement has been settled. Negotiations are ongoing.’
It came as more than 70 business leaders backed a British referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal, warning that the UK faces ‘either a blindfold or a destructive hard Brexit’ that would be bad for both firms and jobs.
In a separate development, former prime minister Tony Blair said that MPs should be seeking going to the people when it comes a Brexit deal.
Writing in the Observer he said: ‘There is the pointless, the painful or fudge through postponement of the core issues. Each option is bad. MPs should vote it down and give the people the final say.’
‘Progress has been made’ ‘We are 95% of the way there’