The Latest on Brexit negotiations (all times local):
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11:25 a.m.
Ireland’s foreign minister says that Britain has placed new conditions on the use of a mechanism to ensure that goods keep flowing across the Irish border after Brexit.
Simon Coveney says that Britain agreed in December and again in March that the unpopular “backstop” would remain in place until a better solution is found.
The backstop is a guarantee that would ensure no “hard border” of lengthy customs checks and controls would emerge between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland in the U.K.
Coveney said “nobody wants to ever trigger the backstop, but it needs to be there as an insurance mechanism to calm nerves that we’re not going to see physical border infrastructure re-emerging.”
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Britain only wants it in place for a limited time, but Coveney said that “a backstop cannot be time limited. That’s new. It hasn’t been there before.”
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10:50 a.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a Brexit crisis, with her political allies insisting they will scuttle a divorce deal with the European Union over the issue of the Irish border.
The Democratic Unionist Party is opposed to any customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. after Britain leaves the European Union. But EU officials say that may be the only way to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said “it is probably inevitable that we will end up with a no-deal scenario” because there was no agreement that would be accepted by Britain’s Parliament.
High-level talks in Brussels ended without agreement Sunday, and no more are planned before an EU summit starting Wednesday.
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said Monday that “everyone needs to calm down” and support May as she tries to get a deal with the EU.
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10:05 a.m.
Britain’s foreign secretary is cautiously optimistic that the U.K. and the European Union will secure an agreement on Britain leaving the bloc although perhaps not at an EU summit this week.
Jeremy Hunt said Monday that “there are one or two very difficult outstanding issues, but I think we can get there. Whether we do this week or not, who knows?”
Hunt said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg that “everyone is trying incredibly hard. I think it is possible to do it and I think with good will on both sides we can get there.”
Britain officially leaves the EU on March 29, but a deal must be clinched in coming weeks to allow time for the EU and U.K. parliaments to ratify it.
