Brexit negotiators work "day and night" to reach agreement

Copyright of the image
Reuters

The Brexit negotiators are working "day and night" to try to reach an agreement, said Michel Barnier of the EU.

He added that an agreement must be "within our reach" for the negotiations to reach the summit of European leaders next week.

He also warned that Theresa May's business proposals would give UK companies a "huge competitive advantage" over EU competitors.

His comments were made when the Democratic trade unionists said that they were ready to vote against the budget if he was not satisfied with the Brexit deal.

Nick Watt, of BBC Newsnight, said the party in Northern Ireland would stop supporting the prime minister if it accepted anything that could lead to additional checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the Kingdom -United.

Earlier, Ms May had urged MEPs to "give priority to the national interest" when they would decide to approve the Brexit deal at an urgent vote, presumably later this year.

The UK and the EU have not yet reached agreement on the operation of Brexit. It remains less than six months before the departure of the United Kingdom, on March 29th.

One of the key points on which they have not yet reached an agreement is how to avoid the creation of new border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the EU.

There have been warnings that a so-called "hard border" would hurt business and peace in Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom and the European Union have decided to put in place a "backstop" – a kind of insurance policy designed to prevent a hard border in case the final trade agreement, according to their okay, would not do it.

Addressing business leaders in Brussels, Mr Barnier said the negotiators were working "intensely" to reach an agreement.

"Politically sensitive"

He added that it would be necessary to control goods coming from the rest of the UK and arriving in Northern Ireland, as they would actually arrive on the EU's single market without the hard border with the Republic of Ireland. 39; Ireland.

"I understand why such procedures are politically sensitive," he said, adding that "Brexit was not our choice, but the choice of the UK.

"Our proposal attempts to help the UK manage the negative effects of Brexit in Northern Ireland in a manner that respects the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom."

Mr Barnier said that there were several areas of agreement with Ms May's plans, published in a white paper in July.

However, he also outlined the main objections to his proposed new trade relationship, which involves a customs partnership between the United Kingdom and the European Union and a "common regulation" for goods crossing the border.

This would result in a loss of customs revenue for the EU states, he said. And on plans to align the rules on goods, he added: "This type of single market system à la carte would be to give a considerable competitive advantage to UK companies compared to companies operating within the single market."

However, if an agreement could be found, the EU will have 10 "parallel bargaining teams" ready to start elaborating details immediately after Brexit, he added.