DUP turn down EU compromise on the Irish border backstop as Brexit deadlock continues
ULSTER unionist bosses last night rejected a new compromise plan by the EU to break the ongoing Brexit deadlock.
The DUP threw up a fresh setback by insisting the Brussels blueprint would mean Northern Ireland having to accept euro judges’ orders indefinitely.
The new row came as tensions ratchet again with Theresa May trying to force an agreement next week to stop the clock from running out.
In an Ireland blitz, the PM despatched three Cabinet ministers to Belfast and Dublin yesterday in a bid to hammer out a border backstop deal.
While Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab presses the flesh with Northern Irish politicians, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley went to the Irish capital.
Under the EU’s new plan, the whole of the UK would join a temporary “bare bones” customs union with the EU until a future trade deal is negotiated – a win for Theresa May.
But while a customs border down the Irish Sea would no longer be necessary, Northern Ireland alone would still have abide by full EU rules and regulations.
Throwing it out, the DUP’s Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said: “If Northern Ireland is subject to EU single market regulations, then it will also be subject to the ECJ in some form as the arbiter of those regulations.
“This position leaves Northern Ireland a rule taker from Brussels.”
The Sun Says: Duping DUP
THE Government simply cannot afford to betray the DUP’s red lines on Brexit.
They must not under-estimate unionist resolve. For the likes of Arlene Foster, nothing trumps the union, not even the risk of IRA fanboy Corbyn in No10.
If Theresa May sacrifices their support, she and the Tories are toast.
Mr Raab attempted to reassure the DUP, saying: “We’ve made it very clear we would never sign up to anything that would threaten the economic, the constitutional and let alone the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.
most read in politics
“We’re confident we can get a good deal, good for all four corners of the United Kingdom.”
But Mr Raab again wouldn’t rule out some new regulation differences between Ulster and the rest of the UK.
After the Dublins talks Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said a deal in November is still possible but more progress is needed and “we aren’t quite there yet”.
- GOT a news story? RING us on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL [email protected]