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Dominic Raab's hopes of concluding an agreement with the EU later this month faded after Brexit's secretary spat on the Irish border issue.
Raab has set the ambitious goal of getting the UK's divorce agreements approved. by European leaders before 21 November, which would require the outstanding issues to be resolved this week.
Expectations were also raised on Sunday by reports that EU "concessions" on the Irish border security fence have paved the way for an impending agreement. [19659004] But the mood deteriorated on Monday as tensions on the Irish border burst into the open.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Raab had taken a "hard" stance on the issue, insisting that the UK had the right to opt out Irish support to the EU after three months.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney retaliated, accusing Raab of going back on the British government's commitment to support "unless" a new free trade. An agreement eliminating the need for border controls is entering the scene.
According to him, any time limit meant that Raab's proposal was "not at all supportive" and "would never be accepted" by the EU.
The position of Ireland remains consistent. and v it is clear that a "backstop limited in time" or a backstop to which the UK could terminate unilaterally would never be accepted by the IRE or the EU. These ideas are not at all a setback + do not respect the previous commitments of the United Kingdom #Brexit pic.twitter.com/y7AQ8V1jMo
– Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) November 5 2018
Sabine Weyand, Assistant to EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, immediately confirmed her position in a tweet suggesting frustration over the UK's position.
The French ambbadador to Ireland spoke of Raab's suggestion to create an "oxymoron" limited in time. . "
In a sign indicating that Raab is not out of step with the rest of the Cabinet, a spokesman for the prime minister said," We do not want the security system to be in place indefinitely and (we said so):
Theresa May spoke to her Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, about the idea of a "review mechanism" for border protection during a phone call Monday morning.
<p clbad = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = " Varadkar" s is shown willing to consider proposals for reconsideration, provided it is clear that the outcome of such a review could not involve a unilateral decision to put an end to the situation, "said a spokesman for Irish Government. "data-reactid =" 39 "> Varadkar" is shown willing to consider proposals for reconsideration, provided that the result of such a review can not involve a unilateral decision of end the support, said a spokesman for the Irish government.
There is no discussion on Brexit scheduled for Monday, but the mechanism will be at the top of the agenda when Theresa May's Weyand and Olly Robbins, Brexit's advisor, meet in Brussels later this week. [19659016] The chief spokesman for the European Commission said that "technical work is in progress" to find a solution to the security dispute, but stressed: "We are not there yet."
Barnier is due to deliver a speech in Brussels on Monday evening, but a European source said: "There will be no news of Brexit, because there is not any."
If a breakthrough is made at the "technical level" between Weyand and Robbins, Raab will go to Brussels to meet Barnier to see if the deal succeeds at political level "agreement.
This is not a formality – the minutes of a meeting of the leaders of the European Parliament confirms that Raab vetoed an agreement suggested before the European Council last month.
Even though an agreement can be found, Barnier's busy schedule This week leaves him little time to sit down with Raab this week. The chief negotiator of the EU is in Slovakia on Tuesday and in Finland on Wednesday and Thursday
This means that a meeting between Barnier and Raab will probably take place on Monday if white smoke emerges from the seat of the commission this week.
An emergency summit of EU leaders would then be convened between 21 and 25 November to approve any agreement before it is submitted to the British and European parliaments.
Any agreement should also be subject to a "popular vote", more than 1,500 lawyers. said in an open letter to the Prime Minister that it was "the most credible and democratic way to ensure the legitimacy of a decision that will have a profound impact on future generations".
CONTINUED: The EU still fears by the non-agreement Brexit talks come back from the dead
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