According to reports from RTE, the national broadcaster of Ireland, the negotiators involved in Brexit deals from both the parties have settled on a text regarding the Irish border which, in fact, marks the “most vexed issue” in the process.
RTE informs that late on Monday, the text was finalised which then was “transmitted to London”. Moreover, sources revealed that that the text was “as stable as it can be” while Brexit negotiations are yet to see their end. While, Reuters added:
“According to the sources, there will be one insurance policy to avoid a return to controls on the border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, the so-called Northern Irish ‘backstop’”.
The same will have custom arrangement all over the UK, although for temporary purpose, besides it will have “specific provisions” regarding Northern Ireland, as the latter treads deeper with “customs and alignment” issues in the “single market” compared to the rest of the U.K.
An “agreed review mechanism” will be put in place which will keep the option open for “further shuttling” between “London and Brussels”. When the Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was asked to comment on the above mentioned report of RTE in the Irish parliament, he said that he was asked questions for “the last two or three hours and had not spoken to his officials”.
Earlier, he had talked about putting in place a “legally operative backstop” for the withdrawal agreement so that it will not have any expiry date while it will not get cancelled by “one side unilaterally”. In his words:
“Whether it’s a double backstop, a backstop to the backstop or a hybrid backstop, that’s not the point. The point is having a legally binding guarantee that a hard border will not emerge between Northern Ireland and Ireland”.
References:
reuters.com
RTE informs that late on Monday, the text was finalised which then was “transmitted to London”. Moreover, sources revealed that that the text was “as stable as it can be” while Brexit negotiations are yet to see their end. While, Reuters added:
“According to the sources, there will be one insurance policy to avoid a return to controls on the border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, the so-called Northern Irish ‘backstop’”.
The same will have custom arrangement all over the UK, although for temporary purpose, besides it will have “specific provisions” regarding Northern Ireland, as the latter treads deeper with “customs and alignment” issues in the “single market” compared to the rest of the U.K.
An “agreed review mechanism” will be put in place which will keep the option open for “further shuttling” between “London and Brussels”. When the Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was asked to comment on the above mentioned report of RTE in the Irish parliament, he said that he was asked questions for “the last two or three hours and had not spoken to his officials”.
Earlier, he had talked about putting in place a “legally operative backstop” for the withdrawal agreement so that it will not have any expiry date while it will not get cancelled by “one side unilaterally”. In his words:
“Whether it’s a double backstop, a backstop to the backstop or a hybrid backstop, that’s not the point. The point is having a legally binding guarantee that a hard border will not emerge between Northern Ireland and Ireland”.
References:
reuters.com
