THE EU’S Chief Brexit negotiator has warned that there is a “real risk” that Brexit talks could collapse if the ongoing uncertainty around the Irish border is not addressed “rapidly”.
Speaking at a press conference in Dundalk, Co. Louth today, while on a two-day visit to Ireland, Michel Barnier claimed “substantial progress” needed to be made on the Irish border issues in order to progress Brexit along its scheduled timeline.
“We need to agree rapidly by June the scope of alignment, what I call the safety controls that are ... to respect the single market,” he said
"We want to succeed with the UK, not against the UK. Together with the Irish government we are looking for practical solutions.”
He went on to call for a “self-standing backstop” to prevent a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.
In March, the UK and EU reached agreement on a withdrawal deal which included a backstop option that would align Northern Ireland, or the UK as a whole, with EU rules if no other solution had been found to avoid a hard border.
Although agreed in principle, this option has yet to be formally worded.
Addressing the uncertainty around it, Mr Barnier said today: “The UK’s decision to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union creates a risk that the hard border will return. This is why it is necessary to have a self-standing backstop solution.
“The backstop is not there to change the UK's red lines. It is there because of the UK's red lines.”
He added that “there is a risk, a real risk” that talks would collapse if a backstop was not negotiated.
Speaking at the conference, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, said Britain’s “approach to negotiations will need to change in some way” if there is to be agreement over the issue.
Picking up on Mr Barnier's "red line" theme, Mr Coveney added: "The British government has red lines all over the place and expects the EU to accommodate them. We have red lines, so does the EU, but nobody seems to focus on that."
“It is not OK for the British government to rule out a whole series of options and then pretend that somebody, somewhere is going to find a solution to find a way forward. The next move is Britain’s in the negotiations,” he added.
