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BRUSSELS – Britain's withdrawal from the European Union suffered a setback on Sunday as the two sides failed to resolve their differences, mainly on how to avoid the dispute. reappearance of a physical border in Ireland.
Both parties had hoped that an agreement on a withdrawal agreement would be globally resolved when EU leaders will meet at a summit that will begin Wednesday. The impossibility of overcoming these discrepancies during an unannounced Sunday visit to Brussels of the British secretary of Brexit, Dominic Raab, reduces the chances of an agreement this week.
This setback is likely to awaken the concerns of a Brexit without agreement and raises the question of whether both parties have the political space needed to solve the most thorny problems, for which the Irish border is paramount .
The border has been the focus of the barely overwhelmed sectarian conflict in Ireland and negotiators seek to avoid the need for renewed controls between Northern Ireland, which will leave the European Union with the rest of the United Kingdom. Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the country. EU.
In a statement, the UK government said the negotiators had "made real progress in several key areas" in recent days.
However, he said "there are still a number of unresolved issues" related to the Irish border issue, which she still hoped to resolve before the summit.
A critical meeting of Prime Minister Theresa May's cabinet is expected to discuss the issue on Tuesday and discussions could be re-launched in the coming days.
There is still time to conclude a wider Brexit agreement before the end of November or the month of December, but the time available to ratify an agreement between the British and European parliaments before Britain's planned departure on March 29 is being reduced considerably.
After talks with Raab, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said gaps remained.
"Despite intense efforts, some key issues remain unresolved, including the support of IE / NI Ireland to avoid a hard border," Barnier said.
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shortly after informing the European ambassadors of the Member States.
A senior EU official said that no further negotiations are scheduled before the summit.
EU diplomats confirmed that a meeting of senior officials, scheduled for Monday afternoon to discuss Brexit progress, had been dropped. European leaders meet Wednesday night to discuss Brexit.
Both parties have had almost constant discussions at the official level over the past 10 days. Hopes of reaching an agreement grew after May's reinforcement of the Conservative Party's annual convention in early October.
Officials had said that an agreement on Britain's exit conditions, a key part of the Brexit process, was possible on Monday. However, they warned that, although technical progress was being made in the negotiations in Brussels, it was unclear whether Ms May would have the political backing to get new concessions through her government.
The two sides discussed two proposed solutions that together aim to prevent border controls on the island of Ireland.
In the first case, Ms. May's government was to be willing to accept additional regulatory controls over goods crossing Britain in Northern Ireland, according to people familiar with the discussions. This would be necessary as Northern Ireland would remain in the single market for agricultural goods and products of the European Union.
This proposal is strongly criticized by the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, which promotes union with the United Kingdom and sees this proposal as a slippery slope towards a united Ireland. May's minority Conservative government depends on the DUP to pass legislation.
For the second, Ms May proposed to stay in a temporary customs union with the EU for an indefinite period after Brexit. This would avoid the need for customs controls along the Irish border, but would also prevent the UK from concluding meaningful new free trade agreements.
This has sparked opposition from some of the top legislators of May's Conservative Party, who object that it will leave the UK too tied to the EU.
On Sunday, David Davis, former secretary of Brexit, urged ministers to rebel and force Ms. May to change her plans.
"This policy would destroy any chance of concluding new trade agreements with the rest of the world. Trade agreements are by far the biggest economic benefit for Brexit. This poorly designed proposal is already undermining the confidence of future trading partners, "he wrote in The Sunday Times.
– Paul Hannon and Max Colchester in London contributed to this article.
Write to Laurence Norman at [email protected]
