EU's '˜hardball' tactics slammed by DUP

DUP politicians have blasted EU negotiators amid reports that Brussels has rejected all proposals put forward by Downing Street for keeping the Irish border open after Brexit.
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Accusing the EU of “bully-boy tactics”, DUP MEP Diane Dodds said it was “time they dropped the ultimatums”, while Sammy Wilson MP claimed Brussels was “trying to see how far Theresa May could be pushed” on the issue of staying in the customs union.

Number 10 said the UK does not recognise claims that its plans for keeping the border open post-Brexit had been subjected to a “systematic and forensic annihilation” by EU officials at a meeting on Wednesday.

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The Daily Telegraph quoted unnamed EU diplomatic sources as saying that Brussels officials delivered “a detailed and forensic rebuttal”, making clear that “none of the UK customs options will work - none of them”.

Pressure is mounting on the prime minister over a vote in the Commons next week on keeping the UK in the customs union, just days after she was defeated on the issue in the House of Lords.

Playing down the reports of an impasse over the border issue, Mr Wilson said: “At this point in the negotiations, and given the context of what has happened in the Lords and the vote next week in the Commons, it is predictable that EU negotiators will seek to dig their heels in.

“They want to see how far Mrs May can be pushed over the issue of the customs union. Such a hardball ploy is inevitable at this stage of the talks.”

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However, Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill claimed the ‘backstop’ option, which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union in the event no other solution is agreed, is the “only credible option on the table”.

Following media reports of an impasse over the issue of the Irish border, Downing Street said the UK will continue to negotiate on the basis of the two proposals set out in a position paper last summer.

These envisage either a close economic relationship which would make customs checks unnecessary or technological solutions to render them near-frictionless.

The Number 10 spokesperson said: “We are confident that in the coming months, if all sides work together productively, we can achieve a solution to the Ireland/Northern Ireland border that works for everyone involved.”

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He said Downing Street was “not aware” of suggestions that chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier had put trade talks on hold while the Irish issue took centre stage.

DUP MEP Mrs Dodds said it was time that the EU “tore down artificial barriers to progress and dropped the ultimatums”.

Reiterating the DUP’s position that it will not compromise Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom, Mrs Dodds continued: “The DUP continues to work closely with the Government to ensure that progress on Brexit customs solutions protects Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.

“Talks outcomes must deliver on all of the commitments included in the December Joint Report and not just the narrow, divisive interpretation of the ‘backstop’ promoted by Brussels to date. There will be no internal barriers within the United Kingdom.”

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A joint report on the UK’s withdrawal agreed in December by Mrs May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker included both British proposals, along with a third ‘backstop’ option which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union.

But a version published by the EU in February and agreed by the EU27 last month contained only the ‘backstop’, effectively drawing a customs border down the Irish Sea, which a furious Mrs May said “no British prime minister could ever agree”.

Mr Barnier said on Friday that substantial parts of the withdrawal deal - including a solution for the Irish border - remain to be agreed by the autumn.

And he told France2 TV: “I say as the Union’s negotiator that there are still difficulties, still a risk of failure.

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“On 25% of the text, we don’t have agreement. If there is no agreement, there is no orderly withdrawal, there is a disorderly withdrawal and there is no transition.”

Restating his position that the integrity of the single market and the freedom of movement are “non-negotiable”, Mr Barnier switched from French to English when asked if the UK could obtain a “single market a la carte” deal, replying: “No way.”

Alliance Brexit spokesperson Stephen Farry MLA said the UK Government needs to “reconsider its approach” to the border issue, adding:““This apparent rejection by the EU of the UK Government’s proposals was sadly inevitable.

“The most sensible way forward is for the UK as a whole to remain within a customs union with the EU and to allow Northern Ireland to remain within the single market.”