Will Brussels blink first on Irish border?

BRUSSELS is preparing to change its stance on future arrangements for the Irish border in a bid to break the Brexit talks deadlock.

It raises the prospect of a ‘divorce’ deal being struck by the end of the year, although critics said yesterday the EU needs to ‘clarify’ its position further.

The vexed issue remains the main obstacle to avoiding a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

It emerged yesterday that EU negotiators are amending their proposal for a ‘backstop’ to stop a hard border emerging between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if Brexit talks fail to agree a solution to preventing one.

Brussels’ changes take elements of the so-called ‘Maximum Facilitation’ plan for the border by using technological solutions. It would involve minimising checks carried out on goods heading to Northern Ireland from the UK mainland.

Under ‘trusted trader’ schemes, checks could be made either on ferries or in factories before crossing the Irish sea, giving the EU confidence goods conform to single market rules.

However, critics pointed out yesterday that the amended offer would apparently still involve Northern Ireland having a different status to the rest of the UK by remaining aligned to large parts of the EU’s single market and customs union – something Theresa May has rejected.

WITH just six months to go until Britain leaves the EU – and the prospect of a hugely painful no-deal outcome looming ever larger – could it be that some realism is finally being injected into the negotiations?

Suddenly, the issue of the Irish border, presented for so long as a towering hurdle to a wider trade deal, is surmountable after all. In a striking change from his usual intransigent tone, Michel Barnier now appears to agree with Theresa May that there could be a technological alternative to creating a hard frontier between North and South. Instead of physical customs checks, goods could be tracked electronically, using bar codes on shipping containers under a ‘trusted trader’ arrangement.

There is a definite hint of conciliation in the air and a sense that the tectonic plates of Brexit are beginning to shift.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister took to the airwaves to deliver a defiant public warning to critics within her party: It’s the Chequers deal or crashing out with no deal, which could pave the way for a disastrous Labour government.

In Salzburg tomorrow she will deliver the same message to EU leaders. If Mr Barnier’s new spirit of cooperation is any indication, they will be in the mood to listen.