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LUXEMBOURG – Ireland's talks on the Irish border have given way to an insoluble disagreement between Britain and the EU – two days before the summit is considered the last moment to reach an agreement on the divorce of the Great Britain Britain the block.
After many weekend meetings that had sparked hope for an agreement on Brexit, European and British leaders sought to keep alive the possibility that Wednesday's summit could see a breakthrough for the Brexit, despite their contradictory positions.
After a year and a half of talks aimed at a smooth break-up, both sides were still struggling with the same problem: how to ensure that no hard borders are created between EU Ireland and Ireland? of Northern Great Britain after Brexit, March 29th.
The President of the EU Council and host of the summit, Donald Tusk, looked for a positive outlook.
He used a quote saying "It always seems impossible until it's done" before adding himself "do not give up". At the same time, he acknowledged that a break with no rules in place "is more likely than ever before".
Despite an unsuccessful meeting on Sunday between Brexit negotiators, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday in the House of Commons in London that "I do not believe that the EU and the UK are far apart one. from the other ".
However, a gulf remains for the solution of the Irish border.
The EU wants Northern Ireland to remain in its customs union in order to avoid a hard and guarded land border between it and Ireland. But May says it would create "a border in the Sea of Ireland" between two parts of the UK – a scenario she and Britain will not accept.
On the contrary, Britain proposes to keep the whole of the United Kingdom in a customs union with the bloc – but only temporarily. Linking Britain to the EU through customs would limit the UK's ability to enter into new trade agreements around the world – a key objective of those who voted in favor of leaving the EU.
"I must be able to look at the British people in the eye and say that this 'safety net' is a temporary fix," May told lawmakers.
Insisting that a divorce agreement in Brexit was "workable," said May, said the border dispute should not "derail the prospects for a good deal and leave us with the denouement without agreement which nobody wants. "
May is under intense pressure from his conservative party and his parliamentary allies to no longer give ground in the Brexit negotiations.
May's political allies in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party, are ready to sabotage an agreement on Brexit over the Irish border issue. DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said: "It is probably inevitable that we end up with a" no agreement "scenario on Brexit.
There are many who fear that a return to customs controls and other controls at the Irish-Northern Ireland border will resurrect tensions between the Irish Catholic community of Northern Ireland and its British Protestant community. More than 3,700 people were killed in Northern Ireland during the 30 years of violence between the two groups and Britain before a 1998 peace deal.
At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the delays in solving the border problem were frustrating. He hinted that May had reneged on part of Britain's December pledge to ensure there was no hard border on the island of Ireland.
He said that a backstop "can not be limited in time."
"No one ever wants to trigger the safety net, but there must be an insurance mechanism to calm the nerves because we will not see the physical border infrastructure reappear," Coveney said.
The stalemate at the border makes it nearly impossible for European leaders to reach an agreement on Brexit at their summit this week. The UK and European parliaments must approve any agreement, a process that could take months.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is perhaps the most powerful voice of the EU, insisted Monday that May can not count on the EU not to lose sight of valuable business. Ms Merkel said that Germany wanted an orderly departure from Britain's bloc "but not at any price".
EU negotiators and leaders have said that Britain should not seek to choose the best assets to stay in the EU without costs and responsibilities.
"We must not let our unique market, which is really our competitive advantage, destroyed by such a withdrawal," Merkel told the leading association of German exporters. "And if it does not work this week, we need to continue trading, it's clear – but time is running out."
If Britain leaves the EU without an agreement on its future relations, there could be chaos – tariffs would rise on trade, airlines could no longer have flight authorizations between the two regions and freight could be lined up for miles at border borders checks are restored overnight.
The EU said it was willing to convene an additional meeting in November if necessary to seal a Brexit deal, but only if decisive progress had been made this week.
"I think November or December is the best opportunity for an agreement," said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. "It's a dynamic situation."
As Britain's chances of leaving the EU without an agreement increase, calls by pro-European activists in Britain for a new referendum – dubbed the "People's vote" – on the accepting a divorce agreement or maintaining the blockage.
Several opposition MPs, and even some conservatives, spoke on Monday in Parliament to call for a new referendum on Brexit.
"We had a vote of the people," said May. "It was called the referendum and people voted to leave."
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Lawless reported from London. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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