Vexed question of Irish border must be agreed by June, insists EU’s Barnier
MICHEL BARNIER has urged rapid agreement by June on the question of the Irish border.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said Europe had no intention of questioning the UK’s constitutional order but was seeking practical solutions to a complex problem.
Many operational details have yet to be resolved surrounding the vexed question of the UK’s only land border with an EU state after Brexit and the issue is top of the agenda in Brussels, Mr Barnier has reiterated.
Speaking during a visit to Ireland yesterday, he said: “We need to agree rapidly by June on the scope of all-island customs and regulations, the safety and controls that we need to respect the single market.” This summer’s meeting of European leaders in Brussels would be a “stepping stone” for the final summit in October which is the deadline for reaching an agreement on withdrawal, he added.
A joint report on the UK’s withdrawal agreed in December by Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker included both British proposals, along with a third “backstop” option which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union. But a version published by the EU in February and agreed by the EU27 last month contained only the “backstop”, effectively drawing a customs border down the Irish Sea, a measure opposed by Theresa May.