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Brexit: DUP leader dampens hopes of Irish border compromise Dutch and DUP strike double blow to May's Brexit plans
(about 3 hours later)
Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist party, has dampened hopes of a Brexit compromise by insisting Northern Ireland cannot be treated differently to the rest of the UK. Theresa May’s hopes of making progress on the Irish border issue in the Brexit negotiations have come under attack from both the Democratic Unionist leader, Arlene Foster, and the Dutch government, an erstwhile ally in the divorce talks.
The DUP leader delivered an uncompromising message after meeting the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, on Tuesday morning, as Brexit talks head for a showdown at an EU summit next week. During a visit to Brussels, Foster offered the prime minister little succour in a key period of the negotiations by insisting that Northern Ireland could not be treated differently to the rest of the UK under any circumstances.
Foster offered little hope to negotiators that she was ready to compromise on her core red line, that Northern Ireland should not be treated differently to the rest of the UK on movement of goods, although she did not repeat her threat to to bring down Theresa May’s government. The uncompromising message came after Foster met the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, on Tuesday morning, and before an EU summit on Brexit next week.
“I am the leader of the Democratic Unionist party. The clue is in the title. I am a unionist, I believe in the union of the United Kingdom, all four elements of the United Kingdom,” she told journalists. “We do not want Northern Ireland going off in a different direction from the rest of the UK.” “I am the leader of the Democratic Unionist party,” Foster told journalists. “The clue is in the title. I am a unionist, I believe in the union of the United Kingdom, all four elements of the United Kingdom. We do not want Northern Ireland going off in a different direction from the rest of the UK.”
Talks on the Irish border are at a critical moment, as the EU and UK seek to resolve their differences over the so-called backstop, a fallback plan to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the absence of a solution through trade talks. Talks on the Irish border are at a critical stage, as the EU and UK seek to resolve their differences over the “backstop”, a fallback plan to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the absence of a solution through trade talks.
The UK is no longer expected to publish a fresh version of its backstop proposal in the coming days. Expectations of a new text were raised after Theresa May promised last month that the UK would set out an alternative, but the government appears to prefer to rework earlier proposals set out in June, rather than publish a new text. The DUP leader said she had not seen the government’s latest backstop text. The UK is no longer expected to publish a fresh version of its backstop proposal in the coming days. Expectations of a new text were raised after May promised last month that the UK would set out an alternative, but the government now appears to want to rework earlier proposals set out in June instead.
The EU is attempting to “de-dramatise” the Irish backstop by allowing checks on goods to take place in factories, distribution centres and UK ports, in a bid to defuse the DUP’s concern of a border in the Irish Sea. The DUP leader said she had not seen the government’s latest backstop text.
But Foster said she could not accept any checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, even if controls were far away from the sea border. “Why would we need checks between GB and Northern Ireland or between Northern Ireland and GB if we were an integral part of the single market of the United Kingdom?” she told journalists. Downing Street is understood to want the whole of the UK to in effect stay in a customs union for a indefinite period, rather than just Northern Ireland, to avoid a hard border. The EU, however, has serious reservations.
She insisted her concerns were not only constitutional, but aiming to avert damage to Northern Ireland’s economy by avoiding barriers to intra-UK trade. The Dutch foreign minister, Stef Blok, told the Guardian he believed the British position was confused, and that the EU was united around the proposal put forward by Barnier for Northern Ireland alone to stay in the bloc’s customs union.
“I understood that the UK until now has used as a red line that it does not want a customs union,” Blok said. “This is one of the parts, from the EU side, where the difficulty often is that the UK either has red lines or is not very clear about its position. We are completely on the Irish side. We don’t want a hard border and there should be a backstop.”
He said the Chequers proposals to seek “frictionless trade” with the EU were “not good enough”.
“I think we have to be realistic,” he said. “Exiting the union, the common market, will mean there will be differences between the current situation and the future situation.”
Blok said a number of financial services firms had made public that they would transfer at least part of their operations to continental Europe in light of the Brexit uncertainty. “I understand that Amsterdam will host quite a lot of specialised trading companies.”
The EU is attempting to defuse the DUP’s concerns about a border in the Irish Sea by allowing checks on goods to take place in factories, distribution centres and UK ports.
Foster said she could not accept any checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, even if controls were far from the sea border. “Why would we need checks between GB and Northern Ireland, or between Northern Ireland and GB, if we were an integral part of the single market of the United Kingdom?” she told journalists.
She insisted her concerns were not only constitutional, but aimed at averting damage to Northern Ireland’s economy by avoiding the creation of barriers to intra-UK trade.
Barnier has insisted the EU plans do not pose a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK, but the DUP remains unconvinced.Barnier has insisted the EU plans do not pose a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK, but the DUP remains unconvinced.
Foster insisted there was no binary choice between a hard border on the island of Ireland, or a border down the Irish Sea. “Those are not the choices ahead of us. We are trying to find a deal that works for everyone.”Foster insisted there was no binary choice between a hard border on the island of Ireland, or a border down the Irish Sea. “Those are not the choices ahead of us. We are trying to find a deal that works for everyone.”
She also sought to defuse criticism of her remark that her red lines were “blood red”, saying she had meant that “these were issues that mattered greatly to Northern Ireland”.She also sought to defuse criticism of her remark that her red lines were “blood red”, saying she had meant that “these were issues that mattered greatly to Northern Ireland”.
Following the meeting, Barnier issued a short tweet that he was “working hard to explain and de-dramatise the backstop”. After the meeting, Barnier said on Twitter that he was “working hard to explain and de-dramatise the backstop”.
Continuing discussions with Northern Irish political leaders today: @DUPleader, @DianeDoddsMEP & @RobinSwannUUP, @JNicholsonMEP. Working hard to explain and de-dramatise the backstop #Brexit pic.twitter.com/JLW2oQNYzGContinuing discussions with Northern Irish political leaders today: @DUPleader, @DianeDoddsMEP & @RobinSwannUUP, @JNicholsonMEP. Working hard to explain and de-dramatise the backstop #Brexit pic.twitter.com/JLW2oQNYzG
The DUP had billed the talks “an intensive three-day round of meetings with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michelle [sic] Barnier, as well as representatives from other member states”. The DUP had billed the talks as “an intensive three-day round of meetings with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michelle [sic] Barnier, as well as representatives from other member states”.
Barnier had been scheduled to see Foster and the DUP MEP, Diane Dodds, for 30 minutes, although the meeting overran. He had a separate meeting with James Nicholson, the Ulster Unionist MEP.Barnier had been scheduled to see Foster and the DUP MEP, Diane Dodds, for 30 minutes, although the meeting overran. He had a separate meeting with James Nicholson, the Ulster Unionist MEP.
The European commission says the meetings are to provide updates and are not part of the official negotiations.The European commission says the meetings are to provide updates and are not part of the official negotiations.
In the last week, Barnier has met British and Irish politicians on all sides of the Brexit argument, including the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.In the last week, Barnier has met British and Irish politicians on all sides of the Brexit argument, including the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.
On Friday, political leaders from four Northern Irish pro-remain political parties – Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Alliance party and the Greens – met Barnier, where they reaffirmed their support for special status for the region.
These parties, which have more seats in the Northern Ireland assembly than the unionists, want to keep Northern Ireland in the EU single market and customs union.
“We need clarity, because we have bottom lines also and we do speak for the majority of people in the north who voted to remain,” Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s leader in the Northern Ireland assembly, said.
Barnier was “insisting on decisiveness and clarity for [the summit in ] October,” O’Neill told the Guardian. “I think he probably understands us better than the British government understands our situation.”
BrexitBrexit
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Arlene FosterArlene Foster
Democratic Unionist party (DUP)Democratic Unionist party (DUP)
European Union
Foreign policy
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