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Juncker and May fail to reach Brexit deal amid DUP doubts over Irish border Juncker and May fail to reach Brexit deal amid DUP doubts over Irish border
(about 1 hour later)
Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker were forced to admit it was not possible to strike a Brexit deal on Monday after a frantic day of negotiations came to a halt because Northern Ireland’s DUP had not yet been signed up. An agreement struck between Britain and the EU to move to the next phase of Brexit talks was torpedoed by a last-minute disagreement over the Irish border with the Democratic Unionist party on Monday, to the embarrassment of Theresa May. .
All parties initially appeared to be confident that there was an agreement to be had on citizens rights, the financial settlement and the increasingly thorny issue of the Irish border, but the bullish talk came to nothing. The EU and British negotiators had appeared confident that progress would be made earlier in the day following an agreement with the Irish Republic that Northern Ireland would remain “aligned” with EU laws in the future to avoid a hard border.
The UK prime minister told reporters in a statement that there remained outstanding issues on which work needed to be done. She said negotiators from both sides would re-enage by the end of the week. The deal spectacularly fell apart, however, as details of the accord emerged. By the end of a lunch between May and the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Brussels,hopes of a breakthrough were dashed – for now.
In a telephone call between May and Arlene Foster, the leader of the DUP – which has an arrangement giving the Conservatives a working majority in the Commons – the unhappiness of the unionists was made clear to the British prime minister.
The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, told reporters that he was “disappointed and surprised” that an agreement reached between Ireland and Britain on Monday morning had become unacceptable to Downing Street just a few hours later.
Varadkar said: “I don’t think it would be helpful for me to ascribe any blame. It is evident that things broke down, became problematic during the lunch in Brussels.”
His deputy foreign minister had gone on national radio just after 1pm to announce that a deal was close with “a positive statement for the country” from the taoiseach planned for the afternoon.
Leaks early in the day had suggested that the British had been ready to bow to the Republic’s demands on giving Northern Ireland a special status, and it appears to have been this development which prompted a unionist backlash.
A draft 15-page joint statement from the European commission and the UK stated that “in the absence of agreed solutions the UK will ensure that there continues to be continued regulatory alignment” with the internal market and customs union.
Yet within minutes of the agreement being made public, it became clear that the DUP were not willing partners, withFoster insisting, both publicly and in a call with May, that her party had not agreed to the wording.
The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, then made the claim that an agreement to keep Northern Ireland aligned with EU laws could now be made available to Scotland. That was followed by similar suggestions from the London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
May and Jean-Claude Juncker were forced to admit at the end of the day of talks in Brussels that it had not been possible to strike a Brexit deal.
The UK prime minister told reporters in a statement that there remained outstanding issues on which work needed to be done. She said negotiators from both sides would re-engage by the end of the week.
She said: “There are a couple of issues, some differences do remain which require further negotiation and consultation.”She said: “There are a couple of issues, some differences do remain which require further negotiation and consultation.”
Juncker described May as a “tough negotiator”, and insisted that talks had not failed. But he had to concede that a deadline set by Brussels, of clear and acceptable solutions from the UK on the three opening withdrawal issues had not materialised.Juncker described May as a “tough negotiator”, and insisted that talks had not failed. But he had to concede that a deadline set by Brussels, of clear and acceptable solutions from the UK on the three opening withdrawal issues had not materialised.
“It was not possible to reach complete agreement today,” he said. “We have common understanding on most issues. Just two or three are open for discussion.”“It was not possible to reach complete agreement today,” he said. “We have common understanding on most issues. Just two or three are open for discussion.”
It appeared that the DUP’s refusal to accept compromise language on the future of Irish border, under which the UK would commit to “continued regulatory alignment” to ensure a hard border would not return, was a hurdle too far. The European council president, Donald Tusk, tweeted:
The DUP leader, Arlene Foster, had made public her anger at the suggestion, and it is understood that that message was repeated in a call with the prime minister on Monday afternoon. Met with PM @theresa_may. I was ready to present draft EU27 guidelines tomorrow for #Brexit talks on transition and future. But UK and Commission asked for more time. It is now getting very tight but agreement at December #EUCO is still possible. pic.twitter.com/oLQQHs9F8q
The UK wants Brussels to rule that sufficient progress has been made on the opening issues in order for talks on trade and a transition period to open in December, after a summit of leaders next week.The UK wants Brussels to rule that sufficient progress has been made on the opening issues in order for talks on trade and a transition period to open in December, after a summit of leaders next week.