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LONDON (Reuters) – European Union negotiators examine a new "backstop" proposal to avoid the reestablishment of a physical border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit, reports the Financial Times on Thursday.
According to the FT, European negotiators plan to create an exception for Northern Ireland which would maintain an enlarged customs union: the province would apply the "entire customs code" of the Community and respect the rules of the common market for goods and agri-food products .
The main obstacle to an agreement on Brexit is linked to the issue of the reestablishment of a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, abolished by the 1998 peace agreements that put an end to decades of community violence.
London excludes the idea of creating a border zone in the Irish Sea separating Northern Ireland from Great Britain, arguing that it would be an interruption to the territorial continuity of the United Kingdom.
The FT said that the negotiators of British Prime Minister Theresa May will make known next week whether they are willing to compromise, crucial decision regarding the holding of a special European summit in November to discuss a potential agreement.
Such a draft compromise could run up against opposition from hard Brexit supporters in Theresa May's government and those who refuse an unlimited customs partnership with the EU pending the conclusion of a trade agreement between the two countries. two parties.
The FT says the project contains several proposals that London has already rejected last month.
"The fundamental problems are there," commented a European diplomat quoted by the newspaper. "We try to accommodate the different ingredients of an agreement".
(Michael Holden and Ismail Shakil, Pierre Sérisier for French service)
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