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Irish border row thwarts May bid to clinch Brexit trade deal

By Gabriela Baczynska and Elizabeth Piper

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is welcomed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the EC headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May failed to clinch a deal on Monday to open talks on post-Brexit free trade with the European Union after a tentative deal with Dublin to keep EU rules in Northern Ireland angered her allies in Belfast.

 

The British leader had sat down to lunch with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hoping that a last-minute offer to the Irish government of "regulatory alignment" on both sides of a new UK-EU land border would remove a last obstacle to the EU open talks next week on future trade.

 

Yet as May and Juncker spoke in Brussels and the pound rose on prospects of free trade and perhaps a very "soft Brexit", Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) issued an uncompromising reiteration of its refusal to accept any "divergence" from rules on the British mainland.

 

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar cancelled a news conference and the pound fell back, losing a cent against the dollar, as May and Juncker emerged to say there was still not "sufficient progress" on divorce terms to move ahead.

 

May agreed with Juncker that a deal could be reached in a few days before the EU summit on Dec. 14-15, but that promise did little to stem recriminations at home, where Brexit campaigners want Britain to become what one called a "free agent" and set its own rules.

 

Varadkar shared the view of some officials in Brussels that it was an opportunity missed.

 

"I'm surprised and disappointed that the U.K. government appears not to be in a position to conclude what was agreed earlier today," he told a news conference in Dublin.

 

"I accept that the British prime minister has asked for more time and I know that she faces many challenges and I acknowledge that she is negotiating in good faith but my position and that of the Irish government is unequivocal."

 

HARD BORDER

 

The Irish border has emerged as a defining issue for Brexit, one of the thorniest of three main issues, which include how much Britain should pay to leave and protections for expatriate citizens rights, to be settled before moving talks forward.

 

With time running down after Britain triggered the two-year divorce process in March, May is keen to push the talks to a discussion of future trade to try to offer nervous businesses some certainty over their investment decisions.

 

All sides say they want to avoid a return to a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, which might upset the peace established after decades of violence.

 

But they have found it difficult to find the right wording on guaranteeing the unguarded border as set out in the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that will suit all sides.

 

Dependent on the support of lawmakers in the DUP for a majority in parliament, May must keep them on board and has repeated that she wants to maintain the economic integrity of the United Kingdom in any Brexit deal.

 

By suggesting May would settle for continued regulatory alignment if there was no alternative way, some in the DUP and in her own party fear Northern Ireland could get a kind of special status that could draw it away from the mainland.

 

A DUP source said the party's leader, Arlene Foster, had spoken to May while she was in Brussels. The phone call took place shortly after Foster told supporters she would not allow a Brexit deal that created "regulatory divergence".

 

The leaders of Scotland and Wales, and the mayor of London, also announced that they would want to follow suit if special terms were agreed for Northern Ireland.

 

"We haven't decided to dismantle the United Kingdom and give in to the demands of the Irish government," said pro-Brexit lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg after a Conservative Party meeting in London.

 

May's aides were sanguine, saying expectations had been too high for what some had billed as a crunch meeting in Brussels, and they played down any involvement of the DUP in sinking the deal.

 

One EU official even said the last-minute hitch may have been stage-managed to give the British prime minister some scope for saying she had fought hard for her position with the EU.

 

Juncker hailed May as a "tough negotiator".

 

May added: "We will reconvene before the end of the week and I am also confident that we will conclude this positively."

 

But European Council President Donald Tusk, who met May and who will chair next week's summit in Brussels, said that he had been ready to send draft negotiating guidelines for a free trade pact to EU leaders on Tuesday.

 

"It is now getting very tight but agreement at December (summit) is still possible," Tusk tweeted.

 

(Additional reporting by William James, Andrew MacAskill, Estelle Shirbon and Kate Holton in London, Alastair Macdonald, Lily Cusack and Jan Strupczewski in Brussels and Conor Humphries in Dublin, writing by Alastair Macdonald and Elizabeth Piper,; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-05

[Get Real]

Looks like she´s still smiling anyway. Just cementing the conclusion that she has no idea of what she´s doing.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Get Real

[terryw]

At last the reality that a deal with the EU is becoming impossible. WTO here we come.

[NanLaew]

Ah yes, the ill-wrought Confidence and Supply Agreement with the DUP.

 

When you lie with dogs...

[phutoie2]

Most thinking it would be the southern Irish that would scupper the day.

[Enoon]

 

Tail wags, bites and p***** on dog.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Enoon

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, phutoie2 said:

Most thinking it would be the southern Irish that would scupper the day.

 

No, scuppering has always been the special "province" of the Protestants of NI.

 

Britain should have "bitten the bullet" (and relieved itself of the burden of them) in 1921.

 

Most UK mainlanders would be quite happy to see the "Ulstermen" (with their pitbull psychology) float off into the Atlantic.

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Enoon

[natway09]

It has always amazed me why May & her supporters thought that the EU & the Irish would just roll over & accept a pat on the tummy

 

[dunroaming]

5 hours ago, Enoon said:

Most UK mainlanders would be quite happy to see the "Ulstermen" (with their pitbull psychology) float off into the Atlantic.

 

Which is your opinion but please don't assume the rest of the UK agrees with you.

[dunroaming]

This has been as clear as day for some time.  By getting into bed with the DUP May was always going to fall foul when it came to the border issue.  She was desperate after the election to hang on to her job but it has just weakened her position even more. The DUP can (and probably will) bring down the government if May doesn't bow to their demands. But her troubles don't just end there.  If she gets the special deal for Northern Ireland that Ireland wants then Scotland are going to demand a special deal too.  The London mayor is also pitching for a special deal for London.  If she doesn't suck up to Ireland then they will scupper her Brexit ambitions with the EU members.

 

This is a monumental cock-up by May and her chums and she is being batted about like a ping pong ball.  You simply cannot negotiate from a position of such weakness.

 

All this and we are not even getting close to the real negotiations about trade and just what that is going to cost us.  Don't forget that the 50 billion is for the divorce and not in any way a guarantee of any future trade deals.  Walking away is not an option so.......?

[stevenl]

18 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

This has been as clear as day for some time.  By getting into bed with the DUP May was always going to fall foul when it came to the border issue.  She was desperate after the election to hang on to her job but it has just weakened her position even more. The DUP can (and probably will) bring down the government if May doesn't bow to their demands. But her troubles don't just end there.  If she gets the special deal for Northern Ireland that Ireland wants then Scotland are going to demand a special deal too.  The London mayor is also pitching for a special deal for London.  If she doesn't suck up to Ireland then they will scupper her Brexit ambitions with the EU members.

 

This is a monumental cock-up by May and her chums and she is being batted about like a ping pong ball.  You simply cannot negotiate from a position of such weakness.

 

All this and we are not even getting close to the real negotiations about trade and just what that is going to cost us.  Don't forget that the 50 billion is for the divorce and not in any way a guarantee of any future trade deals.  Walking away is not an option so.......?

" You simply cannot negotiate from a position of such weakness. "

 

Yes, that is the problem, she has nothing to offer in this negotiation. Once this is done and the trade negotiations start she'll still be weak but at least have something to offer.

[dunroaming]

15 minutes ago, stevenl said:

" You simply cannot negotiate from a position of such weakness. "

 

Yes, that is the problem, she has nothing to offer in this negotiation. Once this is done and the trade negotiations start she'll still be weak but at least have something to offer.

I hope so.  I am sure we all hope so.  As you say once this is sorted and we move on to trade talks she will still be weakened.  She appears to have rolled over on the citizens rights and agreed to pay 50 billion so at that point she really has to salvage something positive from all this mess.

 

All politicians are more than capable of u-turns (often multiple u-turns) and this government is no exception. Self preservation is always the main aim with politicians and quite honestly I think anything could happen over the next few weeks.

[taipeir]

They were always going to cover citizen rights and pay the money how else will they get a trade deal?

 

Don't cover citizen rights or pay monies owed your own citizens in EU are screwed and the UK will lose a lot more money and jobs. GBP will plummet.

 

That's reality if hard Brexit, really ugly , unnecessary and not favoured by most in UK.

 

Its the nutty DUP who are holding it up. Otherwise you'd have your trade talks started already.

 

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[dunroaming]

34 minutes ago, taipeir said:

They were always going to cover citizen rights and pay the money how else will they get a trade deal?

 

Don't cover citizen rights or pay monies owed your own citizens in EU are screwed and the UK will lose a lot more money and jobs. GBP will plummet.

 

That's reality if hard Brexit, really ugly , unnecessary and not favoured by most in UK.

 

Its the nutty DUP who are holding it up. Otherwise you'd have your trade talks started already.

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes they were always going to bow to pressure from the EU over citizens rights and always going to pay around the amount the EU were asking for.  I don't think many people thought otherwise the same as I don't think many people thought that a hard Brexit was possible to achieve without catastrophic damage.  With the government admitting it was just cutting and pasting EU law into British law it does look like the only thing still up for grabs may be border control.  Given the exodus expected from the EU members living here now and the fact that the NHS are starting a recruiting campaign in India and the Philippines you have to wonder what that will achieve?

[taipeir]

What it looks like now is a complete shambles.

That's what it looks like.

Call an election and try again .

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[Jip99]

17 minutes ago, taipeir said:

What it looks like now is a complete shambles.

That's what it looks like.

Call an election and try again .

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

 

 

Already tried that.

 

 

Won't get fooled again !

[stevenl]

22 minutes ago, taipeir said:

What it looks like now is a complete shambles.

That's what it looks like.

Call an election and try again .

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

A new election won't really change the negotiation situation.

[dunroaming]

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

A new election won't really change the negotiation situation.

A new election would probably open the door to Labour in the form of some sort of coalition or even an outright win.  Even the most cynical are not likely to vote for May again.  If anyone wanted the seriously poisoned chalice which is the Prime Ministership then they would have stepped up by now.  Johnson is a non starter and Rees Mogg would be like trying to take politics back to the 19th Century.  Timing is everything when going for a leadership challenge and who on earth would want this fiasco?

[taipeir]

A new election won't really change the negotiation situation.

Its 100% guaranteed that it would change the negotiation situation.

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[taipeir]

   

Already tried that.

 

 

Won't get fooled again !

 

 

Fooled about what exactly?

Why not another election where everybody puts out their stall?

 

Its not working.

Elect a new one.

 

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[stevenl]

7 minutes ago, taipeir said:

Its 100% guaranteed that it would change the negotiation situation.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

Of course not, the UK have nothing to offer, nothing to negotiate with. Hard brexit would cost a lot more than the numbers on the table now.

Seems you disagree, looking forward to your reasoning.

Edited December 5, 2017 by stevenl

[Jip99]

8 minutes ago, taipeir said:

 

Fooled about what exactly?

Why not another election where everybody puts out their stall?

 

Its not working.

Elect a new one.

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prime Ministers are not chosen by the electorate... that is the role of the respective political parties.

[dunroaming]

2 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Prime Ministers are not chosen by the electorate... that is the role of the respective political parties.

As you say you need a leader first and then an election.  As it stands the leader would be Theresa May and the Tories would lose the election very badly.  That would mean a change of party and that would definitely make a lot of difference to the negotiation strategy.  It is not just May, Davis, Gove, Johnson, Fox etc.  The whole of the Conservative government need kicking out and a fresh start.

[baboon]

38 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

As you say you need a leader first and then an election.  As it stands the leader would be Theresa May and the Tories would lose the election very badly.  That would mean a change of party and that would definitely make a lot of difference to the negotiation strategy.  It is not just May, Davis, Gove, Johnson, Fox etc.  The whole of the Conservative government need kicking out and a fresh start.

Yes they do, but not now. Let they be the ones to make a backside of Brexit and suffer the consequences. They called the election, they did the nasty with the DUP. Let them get on with it... 

[Nigel Garvie]

16 hours ago, dunroaming said:

As you say you need a leader first and then an election.  As it stands the leader would be Theresa May and the Tories would lose the election very badly.  That would mean a change of party and that would definitely make a lot of difference to the negotiation strategy.  It is not just May, Davis, Gove, Johnson, Fox etc.  The whole of the Conservative government need kicking out and a fresh start.

While it would be a pleasure to see the Tory party depart, the looney fringes particularly, I don't think it is at all likely that the Labour Party would win except as part of an unmanageable coalition. Corbyn's youth army members, however their numbers grow, are not generally living in marginal seats. That said the sight of Nicola Sturgeon exposing Jeremy's nasty closet anti EU streak in such a coalition, would give many great joy. 

[taipeir]

Of course not, the UK have nothing to offer, nothing to negotiate with. Hard brexit would cost a lot more than the numbers on the table now.
Seems you disagree, looking forward to your reasoning.

I am saying the UK side could have a more coherent negotiating position.
If different parties went for soft or hard Brexit this would give a clear mandate going forward , not the charade of implying the meaning of the vote from two people at the top !

.

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