UK warns EU to soften on Irish border to reach Brexit deal
The UK government has reiterated that it will not change its position on how the Irish border will be managed after Britain leaves the European Union in March next year.
“At the moment what the European Union is asking in and around Northern Ireland is simply impossible for any UK government to accept. And actually if they stick with that position, there will be no deal,” UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told the BBC on Friday.
The comments come a day after EU leaders warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that Britain should face the prospect of leaving the bloc without a deal unless it made compromises on the Irish border and how trade will be regulated in future.
May has insisted that her plan for frictionless trade between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland would be the best solution to avoid a hard border between the two after Brexit.
She told a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg, Austria, on Wednesday that a plan for maintaining Northern Ireland on EU’s rulebook would mean a “legal separation” of the area from the rest of the UK and no British government would accept it.
Both the EU and Britain fear a no-deal Brexit could highly damage economies on the two sides.
EU authorities had said on Thursday that they could call a fresh summit in November to discuss a potential deal on Brexit. However, sources said such a summit would be unnecessary as Britain showed no sign of compromise on the Irish border.issue.
Grayling said, however, that he was still very optimistic a deal on Brexit could be reached despite the differences.
“There’s tough language and actually a deal is done at the last. And I’m still confident that we will reach agreement,” he said.
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