Irish border decision in 2020?

BRUSSELS: The draft accord reached between the European Union and Britain envisages a July 2020 decision on what would have to be done to safeguard an open Irish border after the postBrexit transition runs its course if a new trade deal is not in place, EU sources said.

If not, Britain would have two choices. One would be extending the transition period once beyond December 2020, possibly until the end of 2021. The other would be going into a “bare-bones” customs arrangement that would cover all of the United Kingdom, but in which its province of Northern Ireland would be aligned more closely with the EU’s customs rules and production standards, three diplomatic sources said.

The EU sources said the customs arrangement option included clauses to ensure a “level playing field” by stipulating the UK would have to align itself with EU rules on state aid and competition, environment and labour standards — anathema to hardline Brexiteers in her divided Conservative Party.

Northern Ireland would remain firmly inside the EU’s customs union, the sources said, should this emergency fix to maintain the open Irish border ever be triggered in the event of a lack of a separate deal on future trade relations with the EU.

They said ways to exit the customs arrangement were not finalised and would require more work between negotiators. The EU wants it to be done jointly through a common EU-UK arbitration mechanism that would be created after Brexit.