Ireland says UK cannot unilaterally scrap border backstop
EU signals progress on customs deal but differences persist on lifespan of Irish backstop
Padraic Halpin Dublin - Neither Ireland nor the EU would sign up to a backstop agreement to keep the Irish border open after Brexit that could be ended unilaterally by Britain, Ireland's foreign minister says. The sides in the negotiations have signalled progress on agreeing customs arrangements for an emergency Irish border fix but differences persist on the lifespan of the so-called "backstop". "The Irish position remains consistent and very clear that a 'time-limited backstop' or a backstop that could be ended by UK unilaterally would never be agreed to by Ireland or the EU," Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Monday. "These ideas are not backstops at all and don't deliver on previous UK commitments," he added on Twitter. Coveney made his comment after Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit Minister Dominic Raab had privately demanded the right to pull Britain out of the backstop after three months. With just five months until Britai...
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