Cabinet to discuss ‘credible’ UK border plans
Leo Varadkar called the cabinet meeting for 9am today after officials from both governments were locked in negotiations late last night.
The Irish Examiner understands that despite days of talks between Irish officials and their British counterparts, Mr Varadkar was not in a position to hold direct phone call talks with British prime minister Theresa May to sign off on the deal by 10pm last night.
And while a deal was expected by this morning, the last-minute negotiations are likely to lead to fresh Brexit talks concerns with a key Brussels deadline looming this afternoon.
It is understood the late night talks centred around Irish questions over whether the UK can satisfy all four of the areas needed to allow wider EU-UK Brexit negotiations to move onto the next phase of negotiations focussed on trade deals.
These are a Brexit transition period, the continuation of the common travel area between both nations, the protection of the Good Friday Agreement, and crucially a credible way to avoid a hard Irish border if Britain leaves the customs union.
European Council president Donald Tusk last Friday said Ireland will effectively decide on behalf of the EU if “sufficient progress” has been reached.
A Government spokesperson said last night “talks may well continue to late in the night” and there has been “no resolution yet” .
The senior Government spokesperson said “there must be clarity on the need to avoid regulatory divergence [caused by Britain leaving the customs union] which would risk the re-emergence of the border”.
The l talks came just hours before Ms May is due to travel to Brussels to hold talks on the deal with European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and Mr Tusk after holding her own emergency cabinet meeting.
Provided Ireland has signed off on the border deal, these Brussels discussions will form the basis of whether the British plan on how to address the Irish border issue can be discussed by EU member states and the EU college of commissioners tomorrow.
Under the negotiations framework, agreement must be reached on the divorce deal between Britain and the EU, citizens rights and the border before talks can enter their second stage on trade.
However, if the plans on how to address the border are not deemed acceptable this week, they are unlikely to be passed by European heads of state at a meeting on December 14-15, potentially derailing the Brexit process.
Speaking on BBC1 yesterday, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said Ireland doe not want to be “vetoing anything” and that a border plan setting out “parameters” and a “framework” may be acceptable rather than exact details at this stage.
However, he later told RTÉ Ireland cannot be “jumping into the dark here hoping we land in the right place” and that a “credible” plan is needed.
The situation has been complicated by the fact DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose party provides crucial support to Ms May’s Conservatives government, has warned it may pull down the coalition if a deal treats Northern Ireland differently to the rest of Britain.
Separately, hard-line Brexiteers yesterday warned Ms May in an open letter not to back down on key issues to help cut a border deal.
