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Leo Varadkar, Irish Prime Minister, warned Theresa May that the EU would never accept an agreement on Brexit allowing Britain to evade the guarantee of a strong border in Ireland.
Mr Varadkar told the British Prime Minister that he was ready to consider a "review mechanism" for the so-called backstop of Northern Ireland – the latest stumbling block in the Brexit negotiations – that Britain could not have the right to put an end to it.
Ms. May called her cabinet on Tuesday to review the state of Brexit negotiations. Downing Street still hopes that an agreement can be reached at a special European summit. British officials are now considering a date at the end of November but have played down the prospects for a breakthrough this week.
The main stumbling block is the support of Northern Ireland, the commitment made by both parties to avoid a hard border in Ireland and to maintain the progress of the peace process.
Mr. Varadkar's comments, made in a phone call to Ms. May, are seen as an effort to give new impetus to the discussions.
To indicate its desire to reach an agreement with Brussels, Ms May also rejected calls from Dominic Raab, her Brexit secretary, who wants a plan that would allow Britain to withdraw from the reserve with three months' notice. only.
Mr Raab said in a letter to Ms May that her proposed policy could benefit from support in Dublin and Brussels, but on Monday it was clear that the idea was dead and that she did not even benefit from the support of number 10.
Downing Street has been asked repeatedly whether Ms. May supports Raab's call for a unilateral right to withdraw from the background, but the Prime Minister's spokesman said that Britain sought only a "mechanism".
Rumors were circulating in Westminster that Mr. Raab, a convinced Brexiter, was about to leave, but his allies said the minister felt "relatively optimistic about certain things" and that he "n & # 39; He was not about to resign.
They confirmed that while Mr. Raab believed in Britain's right to "unilaterally revoke the reinforcement", his main concern was to make sure that it was clearly possible to get out of any temporary customs arrangement. put in place to preserve a flexible border in Ireland.
The pro-European conservatives believe that Mr Raab is positioning himself as the champion of a hard line with Brussels to be credited with eurosceptic conservatives before a final compromise. "It's a pretty desperate affair," said one of them.
Ms May secured a major concession on EU support, which indicated that she would consider a temporary extension of the customs union for the whole of the United Kingdom until the end of the year. at the conclusion of a free trade agreement.
But the conservative Eurosceptics, including Mr Raab and around nine other cabinet ministers, want to be assured that this "temporary" arrangement will not become permanent and that there is an exit mechanism.
After Ms. May's call with Mr. Varadkar, Downing Street said, "In order to ensure that the reinforcement, if any, would be temporary, the Prime Minister said that it would be necessary to put in place a mechanism to terminate support. "
The EU also insisted on a "backstop to backstop" specific to Northern Ireland – an ultimate insurance guarantee against a tough border if all other options failed. This, along with the proposed exit mechanism, is one of two major issues in the safety net dispute.
British officials argue that the two problems are related and can be solved at the same time. They also say that progress can be made quickly if political will can be found.
Tuesday's cabinet meeting should be tense, despite the number 10's efforts to minimize the expectations of a rapid advance. But a separate political declaration covering future relations between the EU and the UK would be about to be completed.
