The UK has reacted angrily to EU proposals that place Northern Ireland in within the bloc's customs union and single market.
The controversial provision, included in a draft Brexit negotiating agreement, was unveiled by Michel Barnier the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, in Brussels on Wednesday.
Barnier stressed that the draft text, in the form of a protocol, was aimed at avoiding a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and was a fall-back, or “backstop” position, included because the British had not so far come forward with any other solution to the Irish border question.
“This backstop that we're proposing will not call into question the constitutional order of the UK”, said Barnier, adding, “This draft text contains no surprise for our British partners [as] it expresses in legal terms commitments jointly entered by the UK and the EU in December.”
Three separate options to avoid a hard border were outlined in December in a joint UK-EU report. However according to the commission, two of those options “can only be made operational in the context of discussions on the future relationship”, therefore the third ‘fall-back’ option of a common regulatory area without internal borders in which free movement of goods is ensured becomes the default position.
In comments that hinted that he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the UK’s lack of progress on the Brexit talks, Barnier said, “I'm not trying to provoke or create shockwaves, I want these negotiations to be a success but it is my responsibility to recall that it was the UK which decided unilaterally to leave the EU.”
“This is a draft and we will only officially place it on the negotiating table once the work with the European Parliament and 27 member states has been concluded”
Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney, tweeted that, “today's EU draft text is absolutely faithful to the political Agreement in December and should not be a surprise to anybody”.
“I'm not trying to provoke or create shockwaves, I want these negotiations to be a success but it is my responsibility to recall that it was the UK which decided unilaterally to leave the EU” Michel Barnier
However, when quizzed on the issue during her regular Wednesday Prime Minister’s questions slot, Theresa May predictably lashed out at Brussels saying that the draft text would, “if implemented, undermine the United Kingdom common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom by creating a custom and regulatory border down the Irish Sea”.
“No United Kingdom prime minister could ever agree to it. I will be making it crystal clear to President Juncker and others that we will never do so.”
Prominent British eurosceptics also seized on the draft text with UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson saying it was an attempt to derail the British Government’s plans to leave the customs union.
"I think the particular problems around the Irish border are being used to drive the whole Brexit argument and effectively to try to frustrate Brexit", he told reporters.
"[Theresa May] needs to tell us which elements of the draft withdrawal treaty she didn’t agree to in December and what alternative she proposes” Molly Scott Cato
“What is going on at the moment is that the issue of the Northern Irish border is being used quite a lot politically to try and keep the UK in the customs union – effectively the single market – so we cannot really leave the EU, that is what is going on."
David Jones who served as a minister in the Brexit department said the proposal, “effectively amounts to an annexure of Northern Ireland by the European Union”.
They are living in fantasy land if they think this is something we are willing to accept,” Jones said.
However British Greens MEP Molly Scott Cato said May’s assertion that no UK prime minister could ever agree to the EU’s proposal “isn’t good enough.”
“She needs to tell us which elements of the draft withdrawal treaty she didn’t agree to in December and what alternative she proposes”.