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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/15/boris-johnson-close-to-brexit-deal-after-border-concessions
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| Boris Johnson 'on brink of Brexit deal' after border concessions | Boris Johnson 'on brink of Brexit deal' after border concessions |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson appears to be on the brink of reaching a Brexit deal after making major concessions to EU demands over the Irish border. | Boris Johnson appears to be on the brink of reaching a Brexit deal after making major concessions to EU demands over the Irish border. |
| A draft treaty could now be published on Wednesday morning, according to senior British and EU sources. | A draft treaty could now be published on Wednesday morning, according to senior British and EU sources. |
| It is understood that the negotiating teams have agreed in principle that there will be a customs border down the Irish Sea. The arrangement was rejected by Theresa May as a deal that no British prime minister could accept. | It is understood that the negotiating teams have agreed in principle that there will be a customs border down the Irish Sea. The arrangement was rejected by Theresa May as a deal that no British prime minister could accept. |
| Johnson will still have to win over parliament – including the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and the hardline Tory Brexiters, the European Research Group – on the basis that, under the deal, Northern Ireland will still legally be within the UK’s customs territory. | Johnson will still have to win over parliament – including the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and the hardline Tory Brexiters, the European Research Group – on the basis that, under the deal, Northern Ireland will still legally be within the UK’s customs territory. |
| 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 or cameras, which could raise tensions in the divided communities of Ireland. | |
| Interactive: A typical hour in the life of the Irish border | |
| The prime minister will be able to boast that the UK “whole and entire” has left the European Union. | The prime minister will be able to boast that the UK “whole and entire” has left the European Union. |
| As negotiations continue, there is nervousness in Paris and Berlin about the European commission’s rush to find a deal for the EU27 leaders to sign off at Thursday’s summit. | As negotiations continue, there is nervousness in Paris and Berlin about the European commission’s rush to find a deal for the EU27 leaders to sign off at Thursday’s summit. |
| Speaking in Paris, a senior French official advised “extreme prudence” about the chances of a deal being struck. | Speaking in Paris, a senior French official advised “extreme prudence” about the chances of a deal being struck. |
| “It’s not the Irish who will make the deal. Yes, there are better atmospherics, but what matters is the content, and we have seen nothing yet. Whatever it is, we will want to look at it in very serious detail.” | “It’s not the Irish who will make the deal. Yes, there are better atmospherics, but what matters is the content, and we have seen nothing yet. Whatever it is, we will want to look at it in very serious detail.” |
| Is a deal in sight? - Brexit Means ... podcast | |
| Earlier on Tuesday, Michel Barnier set Johnson a midnight deadline to concede to EU demands and agree to a customs border in the Irish Sea or be left with nothing to take to the Commons. | Earlier on Tuesday, Michel Barnier set Johnson a midnight deadline to concede to EU demands and agree to a customs border in the Irish Sea or be left with nothing to take to the Commons. |
| Legal text had yet to be tabled by the British negotiators, Barnier told ministers in Luxembourg. He advised the EU capitals he would announce on Wednesday whether negotiations on an agreement would have to continue into next week. | Legal text had yet to be tabled by the British negotiators, Barnier told ministers in Luxembourg. He advised the EU capitals he would announce on Wednesday whether negotiations on an agreement would have to continue into next week. |
| Barnier told the capitals that the starting point for a deal would be the Northern Ireland-only backstop, keeping the province in the EU’s single market for goods and creating a customs border down the Irish Sea. | Barnier told the capitals that the starting point for a deal would be the Northern Ireland-only backstop, keeping the province in the EU’s single market for goods and creating a customs border down the Irish Sea. |
| The British government’s version of Brexit involves the UK ultimately leaving the single market and customs union, requiring the return of a range of checks on goods crossing the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The “backstop” is intended as a standstill placeholder to ensure such checks do not have to be imposed between Brexit happening with a deal, and the start of a new free trade agreement yet to be negotiated between the UK and the EU. | |
| Theresa May's withdrawal agreement proposed keeping the whole of the UK in a shared customs territory with the EU during this period. An alternative idea involves only Northern Ireland staying in the EU’s customs territory. That would place a customs border in the Irish Sea. May described it as a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK, but the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, has opened the current talks by proposing an all-Ireland agri-food zone. The suggestion is that he will seek to quietly build on that with further NI-only arrangements. | |
| Given an NI-only backstop was an EU proposal in the first place, the U-turn would be warmly welcomed in Brussels, although attempts to give the Northern Ireland assembly a veto on its continuation would not be acceptable, and the DUP would be unlikely to support the prime minister in such a move in parliament. | |
| If there is a no-deal Brexit, then there is no backstop. | |
| Daniel Boffey | |
| After the meeting, Belgium’s deputy prime minister, Didier Reynders, told reporters: “If we have an agreement tonight it will be possible to go to the [European] council and then again to the British parliament. But it’s not easy, we have some red lines, they are well known by all the partners. I’m hoping it will be possible today to make some progress.” | After the meeting, Belgium’s deputy prime minister, Didier Reynders, told reporters: “If we have an agreement tonight it will be possible to go to the [European] council and then again to the British parliament. But it’s not easy, we have some red lines, they are well known by all the partners. I’m hoping it will be possible today to make some progress.” |
| In a phone call with Johnson on Tuesday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, acknowledged the momentum towards reaching a deal, but raised the possible need for a “technical” Brexit extension beyond 31 October to allow talks to bear fruit. | In a phone call with Johnson on Tuesday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, acknowledged the momentum towards reaching a deal, but raised the possible need for a “technical” Brexit extension beyond 31 October to allow talks to bear fruit. |
| The bloc has insisted the EU27 leaders will not negotiate when they meet. “The European council will be a political moment to tell the story, not to make detailed technical negotiations,” said one French official. “It cannot be a catch-up. We do not do things urgently.” | The bloc has insisted the EU27 leaders will not negotiate when they meet. “The European council will be a political moment to tell the story, not to make detailed technical negotiations,” said one French official. “It cannot be a catch-up. We do not do things urgently.” |
| German government officials said reaching a deal this week was an ambitious target and that agreeing on the technical issues could require another two months of talks unless the UK made enough concessions. | German government officials said reaching a deal this week was an ambitious target and that agreeing on the technical issues could require another two months of talks unless the UK made enough concessions. |
| The thorny issue of how to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland has dogged the negotiations. The UK has accepted that Northern Ireland will remain in the EU’s single market for goods, although it is seeking to find a way to time-limit the arrangement through a consent mechanism for Stormont. | The thorny issue of how to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland has dogged the negotiations. The UK has accepted that Northern Ireland will remain in the EU’s single market for goods, although it is seeking to find a way to time-limit the arrangement through a consent mechanism for Stormont. |
| Barnier told ministers that the UK had dropped the original Stormont lock idea tabled by the prime minister on 1 October, which would have in effect given the DUP a veto on arrangements for avoiding a hard border coming into force and staying in force. | Barnier told ministers that the UK had dropped the original Stormont lock idea tabled by the prime minister on 1 October, which would have in effect given the DUP a veto on arrangements for avoiding a hard border coming into force and staying in force. |
| Under the new thinking, a majority of both nationalists and unionists would need to give consent at a point later in time. | Under the new thinking, a majority of both nationalists and unionists would need to give consent at a point later in time. |
| Downing Street last week accepted there would not be a customs border on the island of Ireland. The government haD been seeking a way to avoid one in the Irish Sea on the basis that it would represent an economic dislocation of the country. | Downing Street last week accepted there would not be a customs border on the island of Ireland. The government haD been seeking a way to avoid one in the Irish Sea on the basis that it would represent an economic dislocation of the country. |
| But the EU rejected the UK’s proposal of a dual system at Northern Ireland’s ports and airports that would involve tracking goods entering from Great Britain and applying differential treatment depending on their final destination. | But the EU rejected the UK’s proposal of a dual system at Northern Ireland’s ports and airports that would involve tracking goods entering from Great Britain and applying differential treatment depending on their final destination. |
| Barnier has instead pushed the UK to accept a model closer to a Northern Ireland-only backstop. | Barnier has instead pushed the UK to accept a model closer to a Northern Ireland-only backstop. |
| Under the deal being negotiated, Northern Ireland would not be part of the EU’s customs territory, but the bloc’s full customs code would have to be enforced in the Irish Sea. “Northern Ireland would de jure be in the UK’s customs territory but de facto in the European Union’s,” an EU source said. | Under the deal being negotiated, Northern Ireland would not be part of the EU’s customs territory, but the bloc’s full customs code would have to be enforced in the Irish Sea. “Northern Ireland would de jure be in the UK’s customs territory but de facto in the European Union’s,” an EU source said. |
| The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, who was also in Luxembourg and briefly met Barnier on Tuesday morning, had insisted a deal was “still very possible” when speaking to reporters earlier. “The talks are ongoing,” he said. “We need to give them space to proceed but detailed conversations are under way.” | The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, who was also in Luxembourg and briefly met Barnier on Tuesday morning, had insisted a deal was “still very possible” when speaking to reporters earlier. “The talks are ongoing,” he said. “We need to give them space to proceed but detailed conversations are under way.” |
| Speaking ahead of his meeting with ministers, Barnier told reporters: “This work has been intense all over the weekend and yesterday, because even if the agreement will be difficult, more and more difficult to be frank, it is still possible this week – reaching an agreement is still possible, obviously any agreement must work for everyone, the whole of the UK and the whole of the EU. Let me add that it is also high time to turn good intentions into a legal text.” | |
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