‘Creative’ thinking on Irish border urged by EU
LUXEMBOURG • The EU largely abandoned hope of clinching a Brexit deal this month and a top EU official implored British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to come up with “a new method of thinking” on the Irish border issue.
With the leaders of EU countries meeting Wednesday, EU Council president Donald Tusk told May to think like a free spirit and “present something creative enough to solve this impasse” at the summit that previously was touted as a pivotal event in Britain’s two-year departure from the bloc.
As prospects for a compromise stood, ahead of the meeting, Tusk said there were “no grounds for optimism” about Britain and the EU reaching a deal.
Members of May’s own party and the Conservatives’ parliamentary allies oppose the prime minister’s current proposals for the future EUU.K. border in Ireland, putting her in a political straitjacket that restricts the “creative” ideas Tusk seeks.
“We sometimes feel the British are negotiating with the British,” Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said, illustrating the EU’s frustration.
A breakthrough on how to keep the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland as porous as possible appeared close enough Sunday that EU officials thought Wednesday’s summit would be a celebration of the elusive Brexit deal.
But continued disagreement on the border issue sent both sides in the negotiations in search of revised positions. The EU said the process was expected to take a few more weeks, pushing the timeline for a deal into November at the earliest.
Negotiators are working toward coming to an agreement “in the coming weeks” to ensure Britain leaves the EU as scheduled on March 29 in an orderly fashion, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said.
“We are not there yet,” he said. “We will use that time — calmly, with serious intent — to find the overall deal.”
Barnier said many terms of the divorce have been agreed upon already, such as how much money Britain owes the EU.
But aspects of the future relationship with the EU are unresolved, Barnier said, most notably the border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland.
May has rejected the bloc’s proposal for avoiding a hard border, which would keep Northern Ireland inside a customs union with the EU even if the rest of the U.K. leaves. She says that is unacceptable because it would impose new controls between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.
Instead, she has proposed keeping all of the U.K. in a customs union with the bloc — but only temporarily, until new trade arrangements are in place that alleviate the need for border controls.