WELCOME MOMENT OF TRUTH AS EU EASE BORDER STAND

THE EU’S chief negotiator Michel Barnier said last night he is ready to come forward with an “improved” proposal on the border in an attempt break the Brexit deadlock.

After briefing foreign ministers in Brussels, he insisted the offer would fully respect the UK’S “territorial integrity” .

He said the summit of EU leaders on October 18, would be the “moment of truth” when it would become clear whether it was possible to reach a deal.

“It is then we shall see whether agreement we are hoping for is in our grasp,” he told a news conference.

The border has emerged as the main obstacle to an agreement ahead of the UK’S withdrawal in March.

The EU is insisting on a “backstop” proposal which would see Northern Ireland remain in the customs union in the event of the two sides failing to reach an agreement in order to avoid the return of a “hard border”.

However Mrs May has rejected the plan as unacceptable arguing it would effectively create a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Mr Barnier said he was working on a plan to “de-dramatise” the controls that would be necessary in the event of the backstop coming into play.

He added: “We are ready to improve this proposal. Work on the EU side is ongoing. We are clarifying which goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK would need to be checked and where, when and by whom these checks could be performed.”

He reminded the British, however, the checks were the result of their decision to leave not only the EU but also the single market and the customs union.

“What we need in the withdrawal agreement is a legally operational backstop which fulls respects the territorial integrity of the UK.

“It is a backstop that will only apply unless a better solution is found,” he said.

TOUGH Raab