Brexit
Barnier warns of no #Brexit deal without border backstop
There can be no Brexit withdrawal agreement without a "backstop" option for the Irish border, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator has said.
Michel Barnier (pictured) said the Republic of Ireland has the full support of all EU member states and all EU institutions.
The backstop would involve NI, or the UK as a whole, aligning with the EU rules required to support North-South co-operation and an all-island economy.
Barnier was speaking at the start of a two-day visit to Ireland.
The UK has accepted the need for a backstop to be written into the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
- Analysis: Brexit brokers and backstop ‘bingo’
- Q&A: Brexit and the Irish border
- Long read: The hardest border
But it has not agreed what EU rules it should cover.
At the beginning of the all-island Brexit forum in Dundalk, County Louth, Barnier said he knows that the so-called backstop has been the subject of "heated discussions in the UK".
"To be clear: without a backstop, there can be no withdrawal agreement," said Barnier. "This is an EU issue, not only an Irish issue."
Share this article:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
