PM vows to bag Brexit deal this WEEK despite clashing with DUP over Irish border
Theresa May failed to come up with a deal after a day of high-level talks in Brussels because Arlene Foster's party refused to accept and sign up to the PM's proposal
THERESA May vowed to get a Brexit deal before the end of the week after Ireland’s leader was last night blamed for the UK and Brussels failing to reach an agreement.
Sources at No 10 branded Taoiseach Leo Varadkar “foolish” for claiming victory over the PM prematurely.
After a day of talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, two sticking points remain — how long Euro judges can oversee EU citizens’ rights in the UK, and how to ensure there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. To break the deadlock, The Sun has learned Mrs May offered to align rules and regulations with the EU after Brexit not just in Northern Ireland but across the whole of the UK.
The high-risk move runs the risk of infuriating hardline Brexiteers, who want a clean break from Brussels.
But the PM believes she can sell it to them as it is strictly limited to areas stipulated by the Good Friday peace agreement, such as agriculture, veterinary protections, the energy market and some transport issues.
She also wants to agree “a common set of goals” with Brussels on how to draw up a joint set of future rules.
But sources in Dublin briefed an Irish TV station that the PM had capitulated to agree “no divergence” away from Brussels rules for Northern Ireland — leaving Belfast having to accept EU dictation forever more.
DUP leaders were furious at the suggestion, with one unionist telling The Sun: “We leave on the same terms, so it’s a no-go.”
In a bid to calm the storm, Mrs May broke off negotiations with Mr Juncker to talk to DUP boss Arlene Foster, who then refused to sign up to the PM’s actual plan.
Last night The Times reported Mrs Foster was broadly briefed on the proposal, but had not seen specific wording. After a tense 30-minute phone call with her, Mrs May told Mr Juncker Britain could not sign a deal.
Government sources said Mrs Foster had misinterpreted the wording of the agreement and more time was needed to speak to the DUP.
But, it triggered a blame game among London, Belfast and Dublin with Irish premier Mr Varadkar accusing Mrs May of a U-turn.
Hinting she had been forced to cave in to the DUP, he said he knew the PM “faces many challenges and I acknowledge she is negotiating in good faith”.
But he added: “The responsibility of any prime minister is to ensure that they can follow through on agreements that they make and we are surprised and disappointed that they haven’t been able to.”
He insisted a deal had been on the table earlier in the day that met Irish concerns on the border.
He said: “I am surprised and disappointed the British Government now appears not to be in a position to conclude what was agreed earlier today.”
Mrs May’s Ulster allies immediately hit back to brand the Irish Government a “bunch of chancers pursuing a Republican agenda”.
DUP Brexit boss Sammy Wilson said it was a cynical attempt by Dublin to get Sinn Fein to get off their back in the Republic.
And his view was echoed by Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said “Ireland wants to promote the creation of a United Ireland”.
Despite the setback, the EU and Britain both claimed major breakthroughs had been made.
And they insisted a deal for EU leaders to declare “sufficient progress” for Phase Two trade talks to begin in time for the crunch Brussels summit next week is possible.
Mr Juncker heaped praise on Mrs May, saying: “She is a tough negotiator, and not an easy one.” Mrs May added: “It is clear, crucially, that we want to move forward together.”
The PM will return to Brussels for talks with Mr Juncker and Donald Tusk tomorrow.
But she was blamed by some on the British side for allowing the DUP to effectively pull the plug on talks.
Thorny Irish issue unpicked
FOR SEVERAL weeks the question of the Irish border has been holding up Brexit talks - but today there has apparently been a breakthrough..
It is currently “invisible” - with no passport controls or customs checkpoints, making it difficult to tell when you cross from one country to another.
The border is currently governed by a mixture of EU rules, agreements between the UK and Irish governments, and the Good Friday Agreement which was signed in 1998 and brought decades of violence to an end.
All sides - the UK, the Republic and the EU - have repeatedly said they want the border to remain open after Brexit.
But there are concerns customs checkpoints will have to be built when the UK leaves the European single market and customs union, as there could be tariffs on goods crossing the border as well as regulations which stop some British products being sold in Ireland.
That has led Irish politicians including PM Leo Varadkar to call for a special arrangement for Northern Ireland, which would keep the same rules as the Republic even if mainland Britain adopts different standards.
But that solution is unacceptable to unionists in Northern Ireland, because it would effectively create a border between the province and the mainland UK.
Today, Mrs May has reportedly agreed a deal with the EU which will see Northern Ireland keep “regulatory alignment” with the Republic of Ireland.
This is likely to mean that the UK as a whole keeps its rules in line with Europe - angering Brexiteers - or that Northern Ireland is cut off economically from Great Britain, which would face a huge backlash from the DUP, whose support Mrs May needs to stay in Government.
After the meeting, Mr Tusk said that although he was all set to send a copy of the agreement to European heads of government, who will have to approve it, he was told the process needed to be delayed.
He wrote on Twitter: "I was ready to present draft EU27 guidelines tomorrow for Brexit talks on transition and future. But UK and Commission asked for more time."
Today’s pivotal meetings marked the deadline set by Mr Tusk for Mrs May to come forward with an improved offer on the terms of Britain's withdrawal.
But in a further sign of progress, he revealed he has cancelled a trip to the Middle East on Tuesday and Wednesday "due to a critical moment in the Brexit talks and due to consultations on draft guidelines for the second phase".
Mr Davis, who is also at the lunch meeting in Brussels, spoke to reporters before he boarded a plane, saying: "We have put seven months of work, both sides, into getting to this point and we are hoping that Mr Juncker today will give us sufficient progress so we can move on to trade talks.
"The decision, of course, won't be taken until the 15th of December, but that's what we are hoping for.
"Because trade talks are of enormous importance to the United Kingdom and to Europe.
"It's an important day. Everybody understands that the decision to move on to trade talks is vital."
For more on this story
Listen to Julia Hartley-Brewer from 10am on talkRADIO on DAB, via the talkRADIO app or online at
And he laughed off the suggestion the PM's intervention meant he was struggling to get the job done, adding: "The first negotiator in this process from the beginning has been the Prime Minister.
"She laid out the parameters in the Lancaster House speech. She reset the negotiations at the Florence speech. That's all done in conjunction together."
If there is no agreement at the EU council meeting later this month to move Brexit on then talks on a transitional agreement and a long-term deal cannot begin until March at the earliest.
This leaves just a year to sign on the dotted line before the end of Article 50 and we exit the bloc, which is why Mrs May is so keen to get things moving at December’s summit.
But her room for manoeuvre appears to be limited, with hardline Brexiteers urging her to walk away from the negotiating table altogether if EU leaders refuse to sanction the move to the second phase.
A series of prominent Conservatives including Jacob Rees-Mogg, John Redwood and former chancellor Lord Lawson signed a letter calling on the PM to refuse to settle the UK's "divorce bill" unless Brussels agrees to a series of new demands.
MOST READ IN POLITICS:
The calls underline the difficulties Mrs May is likely to face when it comes to selling any deal with the EU to Parliament and to her own supporters.
But she was backed by her Health Secretary yesterday, after told ITV that Brexit will not succeed unless the PM has the full support of her party.
He said there is no longer a choice between "this Brexit and that Brexit; if we don't back Theresa May we will have no Brexit".