Britain Has 'nothing Credible' To Replace Brexit Backstop: Ireland
Sumaira FH Published August 30, 2019 | 12:48 PM
Britain has come up with "nothing credible" to replace the controversial Irish backstop in its deal to leave the EU, Ireland's foreign minister said Friday
Helsinki, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Aug, 2019 ) :Britain has come up with "nothing credible" to replace the controversial Irish backstop in its deal to leave the EU, Ireland's foreign minister said Friday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the backstop -- the fallback provisions for the border between EU member Ireland and UK-ruled Northern Ireland -- to be scrapped completely.
With the clock ticking down to the October 31 departure date and Johnson insisting he will not postpone, the EU is pressing Britain to come up with workable alternatives.
"We all want to get a deal but at the moment nothing credible has come from the British government in the context of an alternative to the backstop," Coveney said as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Helsinki.
"If that changes, great. We'll look at it in Dublin but more importantly it can be the basis of a discussion in Brussels but it's got to be credible." Fears among Brexit-supporters that the backstop could leave Britain tied indefinitely to EU rules were a major reason why British MPs voted down the current divorce deal three times.
Brussels and Dublin insist the backstop is essentially to safeguard the EU single market and avoid risking the return of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
Johnson wants to replace the backstop with a commitment to find so-called "alternative arrangements" in the future, but Coveney said this was not good enough.
"We will not allow a really important element of the withdrawal agreement to be removed... to be replaced with something that doesn't stand up to scrutiny and is simply a promise that we'll do our best to solve the problem but not explain how," he said.
"That is not an approach that either Ireland or the EU will support."Brexit negotiators from the two sides are to meet twice a week throughout September in a bid to find a way through the deadlock, London said on Thursday.
Johnson insists Britain will leave on October 31 come what may -- even if it means crashing out in a chaotic "no deal" Brexit that causes economic turmoil.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
Shahzaib Rind calls on Deputy Speaker Balochistan
Ahsan chairs 13th CPEC-JCC preparatory meeting, reviews arrangements for high-le ..
DC Tharparkar inaugurates anti-polio campaign
HDA Mehran workers demand salaries
Taxila police nab motorcycle lifter gang
Inter-university weightlifting championship kicks off at SAU
Walk held in a series of enrollment campaigns
Team from Gaza mediator Egypt arrives in Israel for truce talks
Kids murders: IHC orders psychiatric examination of mother
Health minister credits PML-N for advancements in organ transplantation
Court grants interim bail to Azam Swati in cyber crime case
More Stories From World
-
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
56 minutes ago -
Team from Gaza mediator Egypt arrives in Israel for truce talks
1 hour ago -
Kenya flood death toll since March climbs to 70
60 minutes ago -
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
56 minutes ago -
Junta-led Burkina Faso suspends BBC, Voice of America for two weeks
2 hours ago -
Romania court opens way for start of influencer Tate's trial
2 hours ago
-
Kenya flood death toll since March climbs to 70
2 hours ago -
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
2 hours ago -
Russia targets Ukraine railways as Western aid due to arrive
3 hours ago -
Miner Anglo American rejects BHP's near $39-billion takeover bid
3 hours ago -
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
3 hours ago -
Junta-led Burkina Faso suspends BBC, Voice of America for two weeks
3 hours ago