The Current Events Room
Brexit talks at impasse over Irish backstop, say No 10 sources
The status of the Irish border is threatening Brexit talks. And the EU is still trying to bind Britain into remaining in the economic union, preventing it from making unilateral trade deals, such as with the US.
The Brexit talks have reached a significant impasse over the issue of the Irish border, UK government sources have said, prompting Theresa May to update MPs in the House of Commons on the state of the negotiations.
No 10 indicated that a deal was being held up by renewed differences on the backstop arrangement insisted upon by the EU to prevent a hard border, after discussions came to a halt following a visit to Brussels by the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The EU continues to insist on the possibility of a customs border down the Irish Sea. This is something which parliament already unanimously rejected and is not acceptable to the prime minister.”
The UK has proposed a “temporary customs arrangement” that would mean it adopting the EU’s common tariff policy from 2021 if no comprehensive free-trade deal can be signed before then to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border in Ireland.
But according to the UK, the European commission unexpectedly insisted on retaining the Northern Ireland-only backstop – as a “backstop to the backstop” – if the temporary customs arrangement was not ready in time. If imposed, this would place a customs border in the Irish Sea.
May will come to the Commons on Monday to outline the status of the increasingly fraught negotiations, amid intense pressure from hard Brexiters in the Conservative party to avoid a customs border in the Irish Sea and ensure any backstop is time-limited.
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