By The EU draft release today has indicated that its preferred option for the current Irish and British border crisis surrounding Brexit is for the region of Northern Ireland to remain as part of the customs union should no other solution be found.
It is also been revealed that the British Government has not accepted this proposal upon review of the draft but no announcement has been made as going to publishing. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that this draft legal text on Brexit would undermine the United Kingdom’s common market and threaten its constitutional integrity.
According to draft text, it suggests “common regulatory area” on the island of Ireland governing customs, VAT, energy, the environment and agriculture. The draft alos talks about the European Court of Justice continuing to have jurisdiction over Northern Ireland where EU rules apply and Northern Ireland would also have to abide by EU state aid rules if the default alignment solution.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that “The backstop [Option C] is the only way to guarantee that the joint commitments will be upheld in all circumstances.”
Mr Barnier said he will meet Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and the DUP’s Arlene Foster in Brussels early next week.
When asked where the offical border would be, Mr Barnier said that there could be “technological solutions”, as envisaged in Option B, in “ports and aiports”.
Mr Bariner also stated that the UK government needs to ” pick up the pace” with regards to finalising all negotiations.
It now seems that the bell has been rung on Brexit by the EU and the outcome of this up in the pace of negotiations has yet to be determined.
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