Ireland Says UK Cannot Unilaterally Scrap Border Backstop – Urban Christian News

Neither Ireland nor the European Union would ever sign up to a backstop agreement to keep the Irish border open after Brexit that could be ended unilaterally by Britain, Ireland’s foreign minister said on Monday.

The sides in the negotiations have signaled progress on agreeing customs arrangements for an emergency Irish border fix but differences persist on the lifespan of the so-called “backstop”.

“The Irish position remains consistent and v[ery] clear that a ‘time-limited backstop’ or a backstop that could be ended by UK unilaterally would never be agreed to by Ireland or the European Union,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.

“These ideas are not backstops at all + don’t deliver on previous UK commitments,” he added on Twitter.

Coveney made his comment after Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit Minister Dominic Raab had privately demanded the right to pull Britain out of the backstop after three months.

With just five months until Britain is due to exit the EU, May has yet to nail down a divorce deal, with the Irish border insurance arrangement to keep open the border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member state Ireland still the oustanding issue.

Cautious optimism that a deal between the EU and London may be in the offing has also been kept in check by the reality that such an agreement might not pass the British parliament.

Coveney’s message quickly won endorsement from the EU’s deputy Brexit negotiator, Sabine Weyand, who reacted by saying: “Still necessary to repeat this, it…