Barnier: '80-85% of withdrawal deal has been agreed to'
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said in a speech addressing the European Parliament of Enterprises on Wednesday that May’s proposal to keep the UK in the single market for goods would give it a “huge competitive edge” over the EU.
Barnier stated that good progress with the UK regarding negotiations had been made. Nevertheless, he admitted that the issue of the Irish border is still unsolved and will need a solution soon.
He said that the UK had decided to leave the single market and the customs union in search for better trade deals with countries such as the US and therefore checks must be made at borders with the EU, including the Irish border.
The EU, in order to avoid a hard border in Ireland had offered to keep Northern Ireland aligned with the bloc, but the Democratic Unionist Party refused the proposal saying they would vote down any deal in the British Parliament that would have Northern Ireland treated differently than the rest of the UK.
May’s Chequers plan proposed to keep the UK in the single market for goods to which Barnier said on Wednesday that the benefits offered to Northern Ireland to avoid the border in the island cannot be granted to the rest of the UK since it would give Britain a “huge competitive edge”.
Barnier also said he would meet once again with the DUP and assure them that the backstop option is needed as a safety net since the trade relationship will be negotiated after Brexit.
He also said the EU is still open to a shared customs union with the UK that would reduce the need for checks, but said that some control in the border was unavoidable.
Barnier announced that around 80-85% of the withdrawal deal proposed to the EU had been agreed to already.