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EU27 gives green light for Brexit talks to move to key 'tunnel' phase Boris Johnson signals major U-turn on Irish border in Brexit talks
(about 4 hours later)
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has secured the agreement of the EU27 to open intensive “tunnel” negotiations on Boris Johnson’s latest proposals in a major boost for the British government. Boris Johnson has signalled to the EU that he would make a major U-turn on his plans for the Irish border to successfully secure a 48-hour window of intensive negotiations over a potential Brexit deal.
Sources said ambassadors representing the EU member states had given the “green light” to accelerated negotiations, in the hope of agreeing terms by next Thursday’s summit. EU diplomats gave the green light to a weekend of talks after being told by the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, that Johnson seemed to better understand the importance of not having a customs border on the island of Ireland.
The details of Johnson’s latest suggestion to the EU are yet to emerge. The development came shortly after Donald Tusk revealed that he had set the prime minister an ultimatum of presenting new Brexit proposals by Friday or “no more chances”, but said “positive signals” were now emerging. “Barnier said that the UK seemed to now accept that a deal involving a customs border on the island of Ireland was not possible,” according to an EU source.
The European council president cautiously welcomed developments in Wirral on Wednesday when the British prime minister and his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, concluded talks by saying they could see a “pathway” to an agreement. In a pooled television clip released on Friday afternoon, the prime minister appeared to echo that briefing by refusing to say whether Northern Ireland would definitely leave the customs union.
Tusk said, however, that “time was practically up” and there was “no guarantee” of success. “I think it would be wrong of me to give a running commentary on the negotiations,” he said. “With the greatest possible respect I think, look at everything I’ve said previously. I think you can draw your own conclusions from that. But let our negotiators get on.”
Johnson said: “I can certainly tell you that under no circumstances will we see anything that damages the ability of the whole of the United Kingdom to take full advantage of Brexit, and I think that’s what people would expect, and that’s what I think we can achieve.”
Inside the EU, both Ireland and Northern Ireland are part of the single market and customs union so share the same regulations and standards, allowing a soft or invisible border between the two.
Britain’s exit from the EU – taking Northern Ireland with it – risks a return to a hard or policed border. The only way to avoid this post-Brexit is for regulations on both sides to remain more or less the same in key areas including food, animal welfare, medicines and product safety.
The 'backstop' in Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was intended to address this - stating that if no future trade agreement could be reached between the EU and the UK, then rules and regulations would stay as they are. This has been rejected by Brexit supporters as a 'trap' to keep the UK in the EU's customs union, which would prevent the UK striking its own independent trade deals. 
There are an estimated 72m road vehicle crossings a year between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and about 14% of those crossings are consignments of goods, some of which may cross the border several times before they reach a consumer. Brexit supporters say this can be managed by doing checks on goods away from the border, but critics say it will be difficult to police this without any physical infrastructure like border posts of cameras, which could raise tensions in the divided communities of Ireland. 
Interactive: A typical hour in the life of the Irish border
In EU capitals there remains considerable doubt that there is a viable solution in the pipeline that could be signed off by leaders at an EU summit next Thursday. “You don’t reinvent the wheel in five days,” said one senior diplomat.
A working dinner between the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace on Sunday night is being seen on both sides as a pivotal make or break moment for any agreement.
Barnier is due to update the European parliament on Monday and EU ministers in Luxembourg the following day. He did not go into details of the UK’s new thinking on the Irish border in talks with the EU ambassadors following a two-hour breakfast with the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay.
EU sources said it was too soon to tell whether Johnson was ready to return to the EU’s original offer of a Northern Ireland-only backstop, a proposal that would leave the region in an EU customs union following many European single market rules.
On Friday, the prime minister twice refused to say that Northern Ireland would leave the EU’s customs territory with the rest of the UK.
“I can certainly tell you that under no circumstances will we see anything that damages the ability of the whole of the United Kingdom to take full advantage of Brexit,” he said.
A European commission spokesman formally announced the intensification of talks, as first revealed by the Guardian, in a statement reasserting its unmoved position.
“The EU and the UK have agreed to intensify discussions over the coming days,” the commission’s statement said. “The EU’s position remains the same: there must be a legally operative solution in the withdrawal agreement that avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, protects the all-island economy and the Good Friday (Belfast) agreement in all its dimensions, and safeguards the integrity of the single market.”
EU diplomats said “ideas” and “elements” had been raised by Barclay that would “allow the negotiation teams to continue their efforts in search of a positive outcome”.
Earlier in the day, the European council president, Donald Tusk, said he had set the prime minister an ultimatum of presenting new Brexit proposals by Friday or “no more chances”.
He cautiously welcomed developments in Wirral on Wednesday when the British prime minister and his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, concluded their talks by saying they could see a “pathway” to an agreement.
Tusk warned, however, that “time was practically up” and there was “no guarantee” of success.
“Prime Minister Johnson promised the EU to come forward with a solution that would work for all,” he said. “A solution that would not only satisfy the hardcore Brexiters but also solve our well-known and legitimate objectives: to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to protect the Good Friday agreement, and ensure the integrity of the single market.“Prime Minister Johnson promised the EU to come forward with a solution that would work for all,” he said. “A solution that would not only satisfy the hardcore Brexiters but also solve our well-known and legitimate objectives: to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to protect the Good Friday agreement, and ensure the integrity of the single market.
“Unfortunately we are still in a situation in which the UK has not come forward with a workable realistic proposal.”“Unfortunately we are still in a situation in which the UK has not come forward with a workable realistic proposal.”
A customs union means that countries agree to apply no or very low tariffs to goods sold between them, and to collectively apply the same tariffs to imported goods from the rest of the world. International trade deals are then negotiated by the bloc as a whole.
For the EU, this means deals are negotiated by by Brussels, although individual member state governments agree the mandate and approve the final deal. The EU has trade deals covering 69 countries, including Canada and South Korea, which the UK has been struggling to roll over into post-Brexit bilateral agreements.
Proponents of an independent UK trade policy outside the EU customs union say Britain must forge its own deals if it is to take advantage of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However they have never explained why Germany manages to export more than three times the value in goods to China than Britain does, while also being in the EU customs union.
Jennifer Rankin
Tusk said he told Johnson a week ago that “if there were no such proposals by today I would announce publicly that there are no more chances – because of objective reasons – for a deal for the incoming European council””.“However, yesterday, when the Irish taoiseach and the UK prime minister met they both saw for the first time a pathway to a deal. I have received promising signals from the taoiseach that a deal is still possible.”Tusk said he told Johnson a week ago that “if there were no such proposals by today I would announce publicly that there are no more chances – because of objective reasons – for a deal for the incoming European council””.“However, yesterday, when the Irish taoiseach and the UK prime minister met they both saw for the first time a pathway to a deal. I have received promising signals from the taoiseach that a deal is still possible.”
He said technical talks were taking place in Brussels on Friday. Tusk added that there was “no guarantee of success and the time is practically up, but even the slightest chance must be used”. “A no-deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU”, he said.
“Of course, there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up, but even the slightest chance must be used. A no-deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU.” The key sticking points are twofold: Downing Street’s insistence until now that there will be a customs border on the island of Ireland, and the mechanism for gaining democratic consent for Northern Ireland’s continued alignment with the EU’s single market in goods.
Tusk was speaking as a meeting in Brussels between Barnier and the UK Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, came to an end.
The two men met for almost two and a half hours over a working breakfast in the European commission’s headquarters to discuss the possibility of reopening negotiations based on London’s latest proposals.
“Be patient,” Barnier told reporters as he left the meeting. “Brexit is like climbing a mountain. We need vigilance, determination and patience.”
A spokeswoman for the European commission said Barnier would debrief ambassadors and MEPs on the European parliament’s Brexit steering group. She said: “Michel Barnier had a constructive meeting this morning with Steve Barclay. It was a constructive meeting, and on that basis you can assume they have exchanged ideas and they discussed many different angles.”
The British government is keen to open “tunnel” negotiations with the commission on the detail of a deal.
If Barnier agreed with Varadkar that the substance of the meeting with Johnson was “sufficient to allow negotiations to resume in Brussels” it would be a major boost for the UK government.
The key sticking points are two-fold: Downing Street’s insistence until now that there will be a customs border on the island of Ireland, and the mechanism for gaining democratic consent for Northern Ireland’s continued alignment with the EU’s single market in goods.
Dublin has insisted it will not accept the extra checks and controls that would result from there being two customs territories. The UK’s proposals for consent are viewed as giving the Democratic Unionist party a unilateral veto over Northern Ireland’s alignment with the EU’s rules.Dublin has insisted it will not accept the extra checks and controls that would result from there being two customs territories. The UK’s proposals for consent are viewed as giving the Democratic Unionist party a unilateral veto over Northern Ireland’s alignment with the EU’s rules.
After the discussions between Varadkar and Johnson in a hotel in Wirral, a joint statement suggested the two leaders could “see a pathway to a possible deal”.
Hopes of securing a deal for sign-off by EU leaders at a summit next week had appeared all but dead until Wednesday, with talks between UK and EU officials stalled.
The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said on Friday the cabinet had been briefed on the Johnson-Varadkar meeting, but would not say what concessions may have prompted the surprise optimism.
“I had a very nice briefing this morning which was very much appreciated … It does not benefit anyone to have a running commentary on live negotiations,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Johnson’s proposals for the Irish border after Brexit had been roundly criticised by Barnier, who played down any optimism during his address on Wednesday to the European parliament. “We’re not really in a position where we’re able to find an agreement,” he said.
EU officials have expressed scepticism about the sudden outbreak of optimism.
After Barnier’s meeting with Barclay, he will brief ambassadors of the EU27.
Should talks resume in earnest in Brussels, a meeting on Sunday between the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is seen as a second staging post to delivering a deal for EU leaders to agree on on Thursday.
BrexitBrexit
European UnionEuropean Union
EuropeEurope
Michel BarnierMichel Barnier
Stephen BarclayStephen Barclay
Donald TuskDonald Tusk
Foreign policyForeign policy
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