The leaders of the 27 EU countries without Britain warned on Friday that a lack of progress on the Irish border issue could threaten the entire Brexit deal.
While the bloc’s Chief Brexit negotiator cautioned that time is running short.
“We have made progress in negotiations, but huge and serious divergences remain, in particular on Ireland and Northern Ireland,’’ said EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
“We want a deal and I am working for a deal, but time is short,’’ he added, ahead of the summit talks in Brussels.
The question of how to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which would leave the EU with the rest of the United Kingdom in March 2019, is proving the thorniest of all issues relating to Britain’s departure.
The EU leaders expressed “concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved’’ on the issue.
“Negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full,’’ the 27 warned in a joint statement.
They also demanded “further clarity as well as realistic and
workable proposals’’ from Britain regarding its position on the future relationship with the EU.
London has promised to present a “white paper’’ on its vision for a future partnership in the coming weeks.
“We are waiting for the UK white paper and I hope it will contain workable and realistic proposals,’’ Barnier said.
“But let me mention once again that the time is very short.’’
Comments are closed.