Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UK MUST SOLVE BREXIT BORDER
Key MEP warns talks progress is being stalled
THE UK must find a workable solution to the border before Brexit talks can progress, a key player in the European Parliament warned yesterday.
Guy Verhofstadt said the answer could lie in Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union and single market, even if the rest of the UK leaves those structures.
However, the former Belgian Prime Minister who is now an MEP stressed the onus was very much on London to propose an acceptable resolution, insisting the ideas tabled by Whitehall to date were not up to scratch.
Speaking in Belfast at the start of two-day fact-finding mission to Ireland, Mr Verhofstadt said: “A unique solution is that there is no resurrection of a hard border because that is not in the interests of business in Northern Ireland and Ireland, neither in the interests of the citizens.
“That is also the reason I am here – to hear from the parties how they can find this solution even though this unique solution has to be proposed by the UK side.”
After his meetings in Belfast, Mr Verhofstadt tweeted: “Every solution inside Brexit needs to take into account that the peace process and Good Friday Agreement is secure and there is no hard border.”
MEP Diane Dodds joined her party leader Arlene Foster in the DUP delegation that met Mr Verhofstadt at Stormont.
Mrs Dodds said: “We would not countenance and it would be calamitous for the economy in Northern Ireland if there were barriers to trade with our largest partner which is the rest of the UK.”
Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’neill said she had found Mr Verhofstadt very understanding.
He said: “We’ve made very clear we need to remain in the customs union, we need to have access to the single market, we need to see no return to hard borders and to see citizens have access to the European Court of Justice.”
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said there was an “economic and political tsunami” heading for Northern Ireland.
He added: “He understands we need to accommodate the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland, he understands that people in Northern Ireland voted to remain and that has to be respected.”
UUP leader Robin Swann said: “It was a disgrace we were meeting as individual parties and there wasn’t an Executive representing Northern Ireland.”