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British and European negotiators have agreed on a text that deals with the Irish border, the most vexed issue in the Brexit negotiations, Irish broadcaster RTE says, citing two “well-placed” sources.
Ireland’s national broadcaster said the text was agreed late on Monday and then transmitted to London, quoting the sources as saying it was “as stable as it can be” but that it would be incorrect to say the Brexit negotiations had “concluded”.
According to the sources, there will be one insurance policy to avoid a return to controls on the border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, the so-called Northern Irish “backstop”.
That will come in the form of a temporary UK-wide customs arrangement, with specific provisions for Northern Ireland which go deeper on the issue of customs and alignment with the rules of the single market than for the rest of the United Kingdom.
It will also include an agreed review mechanism, RTE said, adding that it understood there was still “further shuttling” to be done between London and Brussels.
Meanwhile British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet of senior ministers will meet on Wednesday to discuss Brexit, The Times political editor said, citing a source.
Tom Newton Dunn, the political editor at The Sun, said: “Cabinet ministers are being called into No10 to see the PM one by one tonight ahead of full Cabinet meeting tomorrow to sign off Brexit divorce deal. Endgame is beginning.”
A Telegraph newspaper reporter said May could announce two meetings of the cabinet: one to present the deal and another one the day after to go over the deal once ministers had read the deal.
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