Brexit: Theresa May flatly rejects EU’s plan for Northern Ireland

‘No UK prime minister could ever agree’

Saying that an EU proposal for the Northern Ireland border threatens the “constitutional integrity” of the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected the EU’s draft legal text on Britain’s withdrawal agreement.

During the PMQs today, May insisted that “no UK prime minister could ever agree” to a 118-page document published by the European Commission, which proposes a “common regulatory area” between the EU and Northern Ireland after Brexit.

The EU proposal states a “common regulatory area” between the EU and Northern Ireland would be established in the event a EU-UK agreement on a future relationship fails to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Unveiling the draft agreement today, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier called on the UK to come up with alternatives. He also said that the document contained “concrete and realistic solutions” in relation to the question of how to avoid a hard border once the UK leaves the EU’s customs union.

Arlene Foster, leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party also tweeted: “EU draft text is constitutionally unacceptable & would be economically catastrophic for Northern Ireland.”