British Prime Minister Theresa May has told the European Union that the UK will not accept its proposals to deal with one of the thorniest issues in Brexit talks — the issue of the Irish border.
In a speech in Belfast Friday, May criticized the EU’s “backstop” plan, whereby Northern Ireland would remain closely tied to European regulations after Britain leaves the bloc, in the event of the two sides failing to reach an agreement on a future relationship
The proposal is intended to avoid a “hard” border between Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU as part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the bloc. Border infrastructure such as customs and security posts were removed as part of the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland in the late 1990s.
But, if implemented, it would effectively create a border down the Irish Sea between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. May said that would be unacceptable to any British prime minister. May has proposed instead that any backstop should apply to the whole of the UK.
The border issue is politically perilous for May. The Democratic Unionist Party — the right-wing Northern Irish party which is currently propping up May’s minority Conservative government in Westminster — has vowed not to accept any suggestion that Northern Ireland would have a different relationship with the EU than the rest of the UK.
