Impasse: PM cites two key stumbling blocks as reason for stalemate

Theresa May said there were two major issues behind the “impasse”: the UK’s economic relationship post-Brexit and the Irish border.

The prime minister said the EU is only offering two options regarding trade.

The first involves the UK staying in the European Economic Area free trade zone and a customs union, which enables free trade between members.

The second option offered by Brussels is a basic free trade agreement for Great Britain with checks at the border.

If staying in a customs union Mrs May said Britain would have to “abide by all the EU rules” and, crucially, would not be able to strike the trade deals the government wants with other countries.

She said this would “make a mockery” of the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.

Mrs May said the second option – a basic free trade agreement – would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union and parts of the single market, which eliminates tariffs and reduces costs by applying one set of rules across all members.

She said this would lead to the separation of Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK with an effective border down the Irish Sea.

The prime minister has repeatedly said such a division is something she would never agree to, as it goes against the Good Friday Agreement which helped to bring an end to the period of conflict known as the Troubles.

The second stumbling block also relates to the risk of a division on the Irish border, but more specifically over a “backstop” – a position of last resort to protect against a hard border, with checkpoints and guards, on the island of Ireland.

Both the EU and the UK agree the need for backstop arrangements at the border if no long-term solution to Brexit is found, and both are keen to ensure there will not be a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

But the UK has rejected the EU’s proposal to achieve this by “effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union”.

Mrs May said this was something the UK would “never agree to” as it would mean “breaking up our country”.

To break the resulting “impasse”, Mrs May has called on the EU to provide counter proposals.