The Cabinet of Theresa May (Prime Minister of the UK) in London and the ambassadors of the EU 27 in Brussels will examin on Wedenesday the draft agreement on Brexit reached today by the negotiating teams of both parties in Brussels. The agreement comes less than 5 months before the date schedulled for the detachment of the UK from the European Union.
Irish public television RTE said, citing two Government sources, that there’s an agreement on the border between the Republic of Ireland – a member country of the EU – and the British province of Northern Ireland. This was the main obstacle to reach a consensus.
Negotiations must continue, Ireland says
RTE informed, quoting the same souces, that the whole United Kingdom will remain under a customs agreement with the European Union with special provisions for Northern Ireland.
The Foreigh Affairs Minister of Ireland underscored, however, that negotiations in this regard will continue as they have not been conclude.
Both sides agreed to avoid the restoration of a physical border on the island, preserving the Good Friday peace agreement, which in 1998 ended 30 years of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland between the unionists (protestant majority) and the Catholic republicans.
Political ratification by EU27 leaders and by UK Parliament still needed
The technical agreement closed today still needs for ratification at a political level.
The EU leaders could meet for this purpose in an extraordinary summit of the Eu Council at the end of November.
In the UK the agreement will be examined by Theresa May’s Cabinet and then at the Parliament and there’s no guarantee that neither the Cabinet nor the Parliament will pass the technical agreement reached today.
In fact the Secretary of State Jo Johnson resigned last Friday by disagreements on the position adopted by Theresa May on Brexit negotiations.
The brother of Boris Johnson (former Chancellor of the UK) said that the citizens should be given the opportunity to examin the content of the agreement and vote, as the position of the UK will no way be better afther the Brexit than the position the country enjoys now as a member of the EU.
May be, there will be further resignations among the member of the cabinet once they know the content of the Brexit agreement reached today.
With a deep divide in the Conservative Party between the suporters of a hard Brexit and members that go for a 2nd referendum on the Brexit agreement. May, who enjoys just a narrow majority on the Parliament, needs for the support from the Irish Unionist Party (DUP).
Not reaching a clear agreement for the dettachment of Northern Ireland from the European Union is not the best way to earn this support. In fact, DUP representative at the Parliament, Nigel Dodds, warned today: this draft agreement will leave Northern Ireland “subject to the rules and laws established in Brussels.”
“It’s a fundamental red line,” he underscored.
While 52% of British citizens voted for the Brexit on June 23rd 2016, latest polls show that 54% of respondents support UK staying as a memeber country of the EU.
Image over the headline.- Demonstration supporting no Brexit border dividing Ireland. Image by Sinn Féin [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. To watch the original photo click here
Related Eastwind links (Spanish edition):
El Brexit se acerca y todavía sin acuerdo
Related Eastwind links (English edition):
May’s Government and EU show prepared for a Brexit without agreement
IMF on the UK.- Growth slower and Brexit is partly to blame
King Felipe of Spain puts people over Brexit at the UK Parliament
Brexit.- UK triggers “divorce” and Tusk announces EU Council to adopt negotiation guidelines on 29th April
Britons confidence in their Government goes down after Brexit referendum
Britons to pay a heavy `Brexit tax´ for years, says OECD
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