Dominic Raab:

We are making progress, but staying in a customs union with the EU forever would be unacceptable

In 159 days, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. As Brexit negotiations enter the final stage, we need to stand firm, hold our nerve and keep our eye on the prize – a good deal with our EU partners.

We’ve been working tirelessly towards that goal, and we’ve made a lot of progress. Most issues in the Withdrawal Agreement have been resolved – protecting the rights of EU citizens here and UK ex-pats in Europe, and winding down our legal ties after over 40 years of membership. We have made good progress on the issues relating to Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus. We have agreed the financial settlement, and secured an approach to dispute settlement based on international arbitration, not the European Court. We have agreed an implementation period to give businesses time to plan and to facilitate a smooth departure.

We have also made good progress on the political declaration that will direct the UK and EU to negotiate an agreement covering our future relationship, a treaty-based special and deep partnership. The future relationship will build on our White Paper proposals – from trade to security, and all the other areas of cooperation we value.

Together, we’ve overcome many problems. Frustratingly, for both sides, two key issues remain. We are both committed to agreeing a “backstop” for Northern Ireland, in case there is any gap between the end of the implementation period and the start of the future relationship, to avoid any return to a hard border in Northern Ireland.

The UK has taken a flexible approach. But we have always been clear we cannot leave Northern Ireland in a separate customs arrangement. It would carve a line down the Irish Sea, threatening the economic integrity of the UK. That is something we will not countenance. Nor can we see any differences in regulation for Northern Ireland that threaten the UK’s internal market.

Under our approach, the UK as a whole could remain in a UK-wide customs arrangement with the EU – but only for a short period. The EU insists it must be open-ended. Both these EU proposals are unacceptable. The first threatens our precious Union, the second risks an indefinite limbo inside the EU’s customs union. That would not really be Brexit at all, because we’d be bound by the EU’s rules, and barred from bringing into force new free trade agreements with the growth markets of the future.

We can fix these issues, and the Prime Minister has rightly refused to rule out considering different approaches – including extending the implementation period for a limited period of a few months, as an alternative to the backstop. But we won’t sacrifice Northern Ireland, and we must have finality to any backstop – whether through a time-limit or a mechanism that enables the UK to leave, in case the EU doesn’t live up to its promise to get the future relationship in place swiftly. People understandably want to know when the Brexit process will end.

I remain confident we can reach a good deal. At the same time, our no deal planning and preparations will continue. We are building on the 106 technical notices we have published explaining how we will avoid, manage or mitigate the short-term risks of a no deal scenario – and make a success of Brexit.

It is natural that our EU partners feel as frustrated as we do with this whole process. After all, it was the UK that voted to leave. And yet through their response, Brexit will define the EU at a critical juncture in its history. Seeking to lock the UK into an indefinite customs union is simply unacceptable. Proposals to carve up the economic regime that binds the UK are doubly irresponsible given separatist pressures on the continent – and are hardly a compelling advert for a political club that stands for European unity. History will not look kindly on the EU if it precipitates no deal on these grounds.

Now is the time to look forward, not back. For all that Brexit has strained our relationship, the UK and EU still share the same values and face common challenges.

The world is watching. It expects both sides to rise to this moment in our history. For our part, the UK will continue to negotiate in good faith to get this deal over the line. We have extended the arm of friendship. But no one should be in any doubt about our resolve to leave, or our willingness to defend the Union.

Dominic Raab is MP for Esher and Walton and Brexit Secretary

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