Raab and Barnier in Irish border row
DOMINIC RAAB told Michel Barnier the EU will have to order the Irish government to reinstate the Northern Ireland border in the event of a no-deal Brexit, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The Brexit Secretary’s threat left the EU’S chief negotiator “absolutely furious” at a highly charged meeting in Brussels last month, according to a senior European source.
It came in only the second Raabbarnier meeting and was confirmed to The Telegraph by three official sources from both sides of the Channel, hinting that Brexit talks have been souring in recent weeks. Despite Mr Raab telling MPS this week to be in “no doubt that we are making good progress”, sources both sides of the negotiating table have said that on the substantive outstanding questions, including the Irish backstop, progress has been “close to zero”.
UK sources report that Mr Barnier has been “grumpy”, refusing meetings and bristling at Mr Raab’s more combative approach compared with David Davis, his predecessor.
EU sources accuse the UK of “stalling” on the Irish border, refusing a request from Mr Barnier to present fresh text on the backstop, or engage in detail on how to handle regulatory alignment between Britain and Northern Ireland.
The rancorous atmosphere between the UK and Mr Barnier’s “Task Force 50” has been deepened by Downing Street briefings claiming that France and Germany were “softening” towards the Chequers plan – claims denied in Berlin and Paris. It was also reported that the European Commission told EU diplomats not to attend briefings in London, fearing a British attempt to turn member states against Mr Barnier ahead of a crunch EU leaders’ summit in Salzburg on Sept 19 and 20.
Mr Raab held another meeting in Brussels yesterday, leaving without the customary press conference with Mr Barnier. Both sides agree 80 per cent of the withdrawal agreement is complete, but there remains a deep impasse on the Irish border.
The EU side insists that if Mrs May wants to leave the customs union and maintain an “invisible” border, the only way to protect the single market is to enforce customs checks in the Irish Sea.
Mrs May has repeatedly ruled this “unacceptable” as it would split the UK. The EU will not agree a divorce deal unless the UK signs up to a backstop that guarantees no hard border.
Mr Raab’s challenge to Mr Barnier reflects British thinking that the EU will have to choose between forcing the Irish government to erect a border that would undermine the Good Friday Agreement or imposing customs checks between Ireland and the EU. An emergency summit has been pencilled in for Nov 13, according to one negotiator.
♦ A fresh round of austerity could follow a no-deal Brexit, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, signalled after a minister was seen carrying a secret document revealing a no-deal contingency plan called Operation Yellowhammer.