EU Brexit negotiator urges UK on Irish border solution

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – The Brexit negotiations could collapse in June if the U.K. does not come up with a solution on how to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, the EU’s chief negotiator said Monday.

He said he was not optimistic or pessimistic but determined that the U.K. and the EU can leave the current impasse behind.

Speaking in Dundalk, Ireland during a visit, Michelle Barnier said the future of further Brexit talks depends on an agreement on the future of the border separating Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“Until we reach this agreement and this operational solution for Northern Ireland, a backstop [solution] -- and we are ready for any proposal … -- there is a risk, a real risk,” Barnier said.

Describing the June EU Council summit as “a stepping stone” to the October deadline to complete the broader Brexit deal, Barnier said he knew that the so-called backstop has been the subject of "heated discussions in the U.K."

"To be clear: without a backstop, there can be no withdrawal agreement," said Barnier.

"This is an EU issue, not only an Irish issue," he added.

-'Change needed'

Also speaking in Dundalk, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said Britain’s “approach to negotiations will need to change in some way” if there is to be agreement over the issue.

Barnier said the EU was “absolutely united” on the Irish question but wants to work with the U.K. to find a practical solution.

Talks between the U.K. and the EU have focused on the future arrangements on the Irish border. All parties say they do not want to see the return to a hard border between Ireland and the U.K. region in the North.

The border issue has been one of the thorniest issues in Brexit talks between the sides.

“The British government has red lines all over the place and expects the EU to accommodate them. We have red lines, so does the EU, but nobody seems to focus on that,” said Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney.

“It is not OK for the British government to rule out a whole series of options and then pretend that somebody, somewhere is going to find a solution to find a way forward. The next move is Britain’s in the negotiations,” he said.

“We all believe the best outcome for all would be a very close relationship between the U.K. and EU,” Barnier said.

“This is an extraordinary negotiation, very complex, extraordinarily complex and we want to succeed with the U.K., not against the U.K.,” he added.

Varadkar said Ireland’s goal was not a united Ireland but an invisible border.

“There is no question of Ireland or the EU being interested in a land grab in Northern Ireland, that’s not our position at all,” he said.

The U.K. is set to leave the EU in March 2019 but is seeking an agreed implementation or transition period, which the EU said could not exceed the end of the year 2020.