Brexit agreement fails after dispute over Northern Ireland

The Bank of England has warned that house prices will collapse, that companies worry about chaos in Channel ports and that airlines are worried about the loss of homes. agreements that keep planes in the air across Europe.

But for an agreement to be reached, each party must find a way to avoid the need to rebuild the border posts between Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU with the rest of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain in the EU. .

The removal of border infrastructure was a key element of the Good Friday agreement that restored peace in Northern Ireland after years of sectarian conflict.

In an effort to avoid a "hard" Irish border, the EU had originally proposed that Northern Ireland remain closely linked to European regulations, including the customs union, after the departure of Great Britain.

However, this proposal was rejected by the British government. Theresa May has instead proposed that the entire UK remains in the customs union, but on a temporary and short-term basis.

This proposal has also proved unsustainable, with the EU seeming to reject the notion of delay.

Last month, Barnier hinted that he was preparing to come up with a new proposal for "support" at the Irish border, trying to "play down" discussions about what's going on with Ireland. of the North if Britain and the EU fail to reach agreement on future relations. .

The DUP – a right-wing North Irish party determined to avoid reunification with the Republic – said it would not accept any deal that would treat the country differently from the rest of the UK.