-Northern Irish border & Brexit talks
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and the EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier met on Monday ahead of the EU summit to discuss the main issues of Brexit, including the Irish border, that still remains unresolved and which are set to become an obstacle against a smooth Brexit. According to Barnier’s tweet on Monday, issues such as how to avoid a hard border with Ireland are still on the table.
“The Brexit negotiations are on a knife-edge as [U.K. Prime Minister] Theresa May’s domestic vulnerability over the Irish border threatens to kill off hopes of an October deal, with the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, forced to make a dash to Brussels to seek more time from the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier,” The Guardian newspaper reported.
The logical solution to the ongoing Northern Irish border with the Republic of Ireland would be through the U.K. opting to remain in the Customs Union for the foreseeable future while leaving the European Union. However, this option is highly unlikely to receive support from hard Brexiteers in the Conservative party and the cabinet.
According to the Daily Telegraph, May refused to endorse a draft Brexit deal negotiated by the U.K. and EU officials on Sunday night amid fears that her Cabinet would fail to back the plan.
It seems further, long discussions in Parliament and in the cabinet will occur this week while May seeks other alternatives to avoid a hard border between the U.K and Ireland.
Another important development to watch closely in the coming days is whether the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland will make good its promise last week, when it announced that it could vote against this month’s U.K. budget if the prime minister breaches the party’s red lines on Brexit at next week’s EU summit.
Although the DUP is a small, local party, it has a significant role to play in propping up the Conservative Party, which does not hold the majority in parliament. If May cannot gain the support of the DUP over the Brexit negotiations on this occasion, and if the U.K.’s autumn budget to be announced on Oct. 29 fails to quell dissent, it could spell the end of the government and lead to early elections at a time when there are only a few months left until the U.K. officially exits the EU. The upcoming days, which will be replete with tense, heated debates, will be a real test for the political durability of May.
