May to urge EU leaders to give ground on Irish border issue
The UK Prime Minister will address EU leaders at a crucial Brexit summit in Brussels on Wednesday, urging them to keep the door open to negotiations and give ground on the Irish border issue.
Brexit talks are deadlocked over the border in Ireland and the EU have made clear it is up to the Prime Minister to bring new ideas to the table. According to the BBC, the PM is not expected to offer new proposals to solve the issue.
Both sides agree that they want to avoid the border having checks or physical infrastructure to not risk endangering the Good Friday Agreement but cannot agree how it can be done.
The initial plan for the summit would have the leaders agree to a special Brexit summit in November to sign off the terms of the deal between both sides but since the negotiations are in a rut, it is unlikely to happen.
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney told the BBC on Wednesday: “I think what’s more likely is that dates will be suggested but that there won’t be a commitment to a new summit unless there is a signal from the negotiating teams that there’s something to sign off on.”
Her speech in Brussels will come after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday where she told her colleagues to “stand together and firm”.
Ministers stressed the importance of a time-limited Irish backstop and ensuring it would not separate Northern Ireland from the UK by having a border down the Irish Sea.
Nevertheless the time limit on the backstop is still uncertain since the December agreement signed by both sides said it would operate “unless and until” new alternative arrangement are put into place, which currently seems elusive.