AFP :
British Prime Minister Theresa May will try to seal a deal on Brexit divorce terms with EU chiefs on Monday, with the Irish border still the key stumbling block as months of tense talks reach a decisive moment.
May will meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and EU president Donald Tusk in Brussels for what the bloc says is the “absolute deadline” for an improved offer from London.
European officials said a deal on separation issues-which would allow the opening of crucial talks on a future post-Brexit trade deal at an EU summit on December 15 — was “difficult but doable”.
But while there has been progress on Britain’s Brexit divorce bill and the rights of European citizens living in Britain, the fate of the frontier between Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland risks torpedoing a deal.
“Discussions are in a sensitive place right now,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday morning as the Irish cabinet prepared to hold a special meeting on the issue.
“Hopefully we’ll find a way forward today but if we can’t do that then the Irish government position isn’t going to change.”
Tusk effectively backed Ireland’s right to veto the unlocking of the next phase of talks when he met Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin last week, saying if Ireland was not satisfied then neither was the EU.
London has however rejected the EU’s deadline and, ahead of next week’s summit, appears keen to push the talks to the wire.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will try to seal a deal on Brexit divorce terms with EU chiefs on Monday, with the Irish border still the key stumbling block as months of tense talks reach a decisive moment.
May will meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and EU president Donald Tusk in Brussels for what the bloc says is the “absolute deadline” for an improved offer from London.
European officials said a deal on separation issues-which would allow the opening of crucial talks on a future post-Brexit trade deal at an EU summit on December 15 — was “difficult but doable”.
But while there has been progress on Britain’s Brexit divorce bill and the rights of European citizens living in Britain, the fate of the frontier between Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland risks torpedoing a deal.
“Discussions are in a sensitive place right now,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday morning as the Irish cabinet prepared to hold a special meeting on the issue.
“Hopefully we’ll find a way forward today but if we can’t do that then the Irish government position isn’t going to change.”
Tusk effectively backed Ireland’s right to veto the unlocking of the next phase of talks when he met Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin last week, saying if Ireland was not satisfied then neither was the EU.
London has however rejected the EU’s deadline and, ahead of next week’s summit, appears keen to push the talks to the wire.
